Pope Presents Pallium to Supreme Chaplain Archbishop Lori
On the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, Pope Benedict XVI presented a pallium to each one of 44 new archbishops appointed during the last year, including the Supreme Chaplain, Archbishop William E. Lori, who was installed as the sixteenth Archbishop of Baltimore on May 16th.
A pallium is the white, woolen vestment worn around the neck of metropolitan archbishops who lead an ecclesiastical province composed of an archdiocese and one or more smaller dioceses or “suffragans” – e.g. the Province of Baltimore is comprised of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and its suffragan dioceses of Arlington, Richmond, Wheeling-Charleston and Wilmington.
Symbolizing the light yoke of Christ while also recalling a lamb borne upon the shoulders of a shepherd, the pallium is the premier symbol of an archbishop’s pastoral ministry, jurisdiction and communion with the Apostolic See.
Each pallium is woven from wool sheared from lambs blessed annually on the feast of Saint Agnes, January 21. The vestment is punctuated by five black crosses (red crosses in the case of the petrine pallium), which represent the five wounds of Christ. Pins are inserted into three of the crosses, representing the nails of the crucifixion.
On the eve of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the pallia to be distributed are placed atop the tomb of Saint Peter where they remain overnight until the ceremony of conferral the next day, further emphasizing the vestment’s connection to Saint Peter and his successors.
Among the 44 new archbishops were 11 other members of the Knights of Columbus, including: Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega of Guadalajara, Mexico; Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia; Archbishop-designate Samuel Aquila of Denver; Archbishop William Skurla of Pittsburgh of the Byzantines; Archbishop Luc Cyr of Sherbrooke, Canada; Archbishop Valery Vienneau of Moncton, Canada; Archbishop Christian Lepine of Montreal, Canada; Archbishop Paul-André Durocher of Gatineau, Canada; Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Philippines; Archbishop Jose Advincula of Capiz, Philippines; and Archbishop Romulo Geolina Valles of Davao, Philippines.
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