PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights is normally busy with vehicular traffic, but on Palm Sunday, March 24, it will be filled with foot traffic — and lots of it — as Catholics from around the diocese join Bishop Robert Brennan in a grand procession.

Bishop Brennan will gather with the faithful at Grand Army Plaza at 12:30 p.m. to bless the palms and then lead the pilgrims in procession along several blocks of Vanderbilt Avenue to the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, located on Pacific Street between Vanderbilt and Underhill avenues.

In an unusual move, the Palm Sunday Mass will actually begin at Grand Army Plaza with Father Christopher Heanue, rector of the co-cathedral, offering the first reading, from the Book of Isaiah. 

Following the procession, the Mass will resume at the co-cathedral. The Mass will be celebrated in Spanish.

The entire Palm Sunday celebration, from the start of the Mass through the procession and the remainder of the Mass at the co-cathedral, will be broadcast live on NET-TV available on Optimum (Channel 30), Spectrum (Channel 97), and Fios (Channel 548). Coverage will begin at 12:45 p.m.

Palm Sunday, which serves as the start of Holy Week, commemorates Jesus’ triumphant return to Jerusalem where people laid palms at his feet in a sign of respect. Palms are a traditional symbol of victory and peace.

But the palms are significant for another reason. The palms are blessed with holy water, an action that turns the palms into sacramentals, which are objects meant to bring the faithful closer to God.

“The palms represent eternal life,” explained Father Henry Torres, pastor of Mary of Nazareth Church in Fort Greene.

“When Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey, and that triumphant entrance, people thought that Jesus was going to become this ruler here on earth. Little did they know he was entering to conquer the greatest enemy, which was the serpent — sin,” added Father Torres, who will serve as a guide to NET-TV’s coverage of the procession.

Father Torres toured Grand Army Plaza on Tuesday, March 12, to discuss the preparations for the big day with Dominic Ambrosio, director of programming and production for DeSales Media Group — the ministry that produces NET-TV and The Tablet — associate producer Steven Aiello and producer Marilyn Arreaga.

“It’s going to be a wonderful day,” Ambrosio predicted. “The community attending in person will be fully immersed in the celebration and will understand the meaning of Palm Sunday and we will be bringing the experience to the viewers at home.”

In the event of heavy rain on Palm Sunday, the broadcast will begin at 1:15 p.m. outside the co-cathedral of St. Joseph, Ambrosio said. “But it’s not going to rain,” he added confidently.

The diocese’s procession is actually part of a grand tradition that dates back several centuries, Father Torres said. 

“It’s something that’s been lost in some parishes and in some communities. But the procession is something that’s been very much part of our history since the fourth century,” he explained.

It all comes back to Jesus, he added. “The Lord paid the ultimate price to conquer sin and die for us. He paid the ultimate price to set us free.”