JOHNSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — Palm weaving is a unique skill that not everyone knows how to do. But a number of volunteers at the Our Lady of Grace Church, including Patricia Colorado, have been doing it for years. Colorado said she first tried her hand at palm weaving roughly 25 years ago. "Elders of the church were doing it," Colorado recalled. "I'm kind of an artsy person, so when I saw them I was impressed with what I saw and I got involved." "We have a couple of [women] here who are pretty experienced," she continued. "Anyone that comes in walks out of here happy." The art of palm weaving involves braiding strips of palm leaves, called fronds, that is typically linked to religious observances. For Catholics and Christians, the woven fronds are holy symbols of faith and devotion that represent the blessed palms of Palm Sunday — which is always the week before Easter. That's why Colorado and other volunteers have been hard at work weaving palms for this weekend's Mass. Father Richard Narciso told 12 News the church's parishioners not only love collecting palms, but also gifting them to others. "We know palms are deeply rooted in the tradition of the church," Narciso explained. "We know that, when we celebrate on Palm Sunday, we're called to mind the moment in Jesus' life when he enters Jerusalem ... people were proclaiming him king, waving and throwing palms at him, and we know things quickly turned." "For us in this day and age, which we find ourselves living, palms continue to be a sign of peace and reconciliation," he continued. "Many different people, still to this day, share them with one another." Narciso said the decorative palms are placed on the altar to symbolize the season of lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on the Thursday before Easter. "People come in here and say, 'I could never do that.' But you show them a couple of times and they just jump right in and create their own pieces," Colorado said. "It's pretty impressive." The woven arrangements will be displayed on the altar at Our Lady of Grace this weekend. Palm Sunday Mass is slated for 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the new 12+ smart TV app. Follow us on social media:                     Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This Week in Good News SIGN UP NOW ...read more read less