Vatican City: In a dazzling display of horticultural artistry, the Vatican Gardens have unveiled a vibrant floral rendition of Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms. This botanical marvel, now gracing the slope before the Governor’s Palace and extending toward the apse of St. Peter’s Basilica, was crafted over a two-week period by the Gardens and Environment Service under the Directorate of Infrastructure and Services of the Vatican Governatorate.
A mosaic of hundreds of vividly colored plants was arranged with meticulous precision to replicate the papal emblem, transforming the hillside into a canvas of living art. As with those of previous pontiffs, the floral insignia is expected to draw the gaze of thousands each year—especially from the lofty dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, which offers an ideal vantage point.
The creation demanded daily attention from two skilled gardeners whose craftsmanship and aesthetic sensitivity were central to the project’s success. Their task included designing a new version of the coat of arms and delicately assembling it on site using a variety of plant species, each chosen for specific colors and textures.
The floral arrangement is set within a structural design inherited from Pope Francis, featuring a traditional mitre rendered in Buxus sempervirens (dwarf boxwood), flanked by the familiar crossed keys of gold and silver tied with a red cord. The golden key glows with the foliage of Euonymus aureus, while the silver counterpart gleams with Helichrysum italicum, a seasonal plant requiring annual replacement to maintain its sheen.
The vibrant red cord linking the keys is a seasonal duality—Iresine brillantissima in the summer and Viola cornuta in cooler months. The coat of arms is split diagonally into two halves, each blooming with symbolic meaning. In the upper left quadrant, set against a sea of blue formed by 400 reused Ageratum “Blue Star” plants from Pope Francis’s own emblem, is a delicate white lily composed of 50 Helichrysum italicum plants. This flower, a traditional symbol of purity and virginity, pays homage to the Virgin Mary.
On the lower right, a light-colored field displays the emblem of the Order of Saint Augustine: a heart pierced by an arrow, resting upon a book. This powerful image, reflecting the spiritual transformation of Saint Augustine—who proclaimed, "Vulnerasti cor meum Verbo tuo" (“You have pierced my heart with your Word”)—was intricately crafted using 400 bronze-leaved, white-flowered Begonia semperflorens Night Life for the background. The heart itself sprang to life with Iresine lindenii, while the book took form through a collaboration with the Vatican’s blacksmiths, who sculpted metal sheets filled with red lava rock for detail and white gravel to emulate its pages.
In this latest celebration of spiritual symbolism and horticultural elegance, the Vatican Gardens once again affirm their role not just as a sanctuary of peace, but as a gallery of sacred expression—where faith, nature, and artistry entwine in full bloom.