Pope Leo XIV breaks tradition of acknowledging the Netherlands in first Easter address

Pope Leo XIV broke with long-standing Vatican tradition Sunday, omitting any reference to the Netherlands during his first Easter address and failing to acknowledge the country’s annual flower contribution to St. Peter’s Square.

Speaking to a packed St. Peter’s Square, Leo focused his message on global conflict and urged world leaders to “choose peace,” warning of growing public indifference to violence. “We are becoming accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it and growing indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people,” he said. He added that a “globalization of indifference” is spreading, echoing the language use of his predecessor, Franciscus.

The address marked a departure from a decades-long Easter tradition involving Dutch flower growers. For the 40th consecutive year, the Netherlands supplied about 65,000 tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths displayed in St. Peter’s Square.

The tradition began in 1986, following a visit to the Netherlands by Johannes Paulus II. His phrase “Bedankt voor de bloemen” (“Thank you for the flowers”) became a widely recognized expression and was repeated each year at later Easter celebrations. His successor, Benedictus XVI, continued the practice. Francis did not repeat the phrase but regularly thanked the Netherlands in Italian.

Leo avoided mentioning the flowers in Sunday’s address and did not include Dutch among the 10 languages used in his Easter greetings, which included Arabic, Polish, and English.