By Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News

Parishioners at the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Saskatoon joined their Filipino sisters and brothers in celebrating the tradition of Flores de Mayo May 25, after the 11 a.m. Sunday Mass. The procession was observed for the second year at the diocesan cathedral.

Archbishop Emeritus Rolando Tria Tirona of the Metropolitan Diocese of Nueva Caceres in the Philippines presided at Mass. Later in the week, he also celebrated with St. Patrick Parish in Saskatoon.

Flores de Mayo, or Flowers of May, is a Filipino tradition honouring Mary, and during the 0ffertory of the Eucharistic celebration, participants offered flowers to her image.

A procession followed the Mass, where children and adults dressed as angels, as well as biblical women and figures from Christian tradition, who were honoured with honorary titles.

Other participants wore colourful gowns and dresses, accompanied by their family and friends, who held arches decked in vibrant paper flowers.

The Flores de Mayo is also known as the Santacruzan, as it tells the story of the journey of St. Helena, the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine, in finding the cross of Christ.

According to Christian historian Eusebius of Caesarea, St. Helena went on a pilgrimage to Palestine in the hope of finding the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Her group recovered three crosses when they excavated the burial site of Jesus. She then invited a sick woman to touch the crosses, with the third cross found curing her of her illness. St. Helena ordered a church built on the site, which is now the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, while the relic of the cross was divided among different churches across Europe.

The Flores de Mayo tradition originated in the 1860s among the Tagalog people in the Philippines, more than a decade after the Church’s proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The cherished Filipino tradition serves as a rich expression of faith, community, and culture. The act, though simple, radiates deep devotion and joy.

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Reporter Jon Perez is a parishioner at the Cathedral of the Holy Family, Saskatoon.

Communications and Catholic Saskatoon News is supported by gifts to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal: dscf.ca/baa