Corpus Christi is also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. It is celebrated across the world in the Roman Catholic Faith on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. The reason for the day Thursday is that this was the day of the Last Supper when Jesus and his disciples ate their last meal together.

Most devotees celebrate the event by taking bread and wine which represent the body and blood of Christ. It is known as a jubilant festival because it celebrates the transformation of the bread and wine into the physical form of Jesus.

The first Feast of Corpus Christi was introduced in Spain in the 13th Century by Santa Juliana of Liege.

In the Church of England the same day is known as Thanksgiving. The celebration of Corpus Christi declined in the UK by the 1970’s. But there are a few places that have continued to celebrate in some shape or another.

One such place is Arundel in the South Downs,West Sussex. But there is something very unusual about the celebration of Corpus Christi in Arundel’s Cathedral. It is celebrated with a carpet of flowers.

The carpet is created by an army of volunteers. It fills the full length of the central isle of the Cathedral. 90ft long. Every year it has a different theme for the design. This year it celebrated 150 years and that was reflected in the floral design.

It was the 15th Duke of Norfolk, Henry Fitzalan- Howard who introduced this beautiful celebration to Arundel in 1877. He had been on a visit to Italy and in a village 30 miles from Rome, a place called Sutri he saw a carpet of flowers.

The flowers symbolise paving the way for the King of Kings. They are a sacrifice to God. In villages in Italy they still celebrate, with streets carpeted in flowers which are later destroyed by the resident children.

My visit was a little more British. We were not allowed to walk on the flowers. The 7th June was its unveiling. The 8th June will be the actual Mass.

The Cathedral only achieved that status in 1965, but Arundel has a history dated back far longer then that. And with a Castle that spans 1047 to date its a has an amazing living continuous history.