Pope Benedict XVI has blessed two lambs whose wool will be shorn to make shawls for newly appointed archbishops to wear.The annual blessing takes place on the feast day of St. Agnes, a martyr of early Christianity often symbolized by a lamb.
In the ritual Wednesday, the pope blessed the animals as they lay in two baskets.
Each lamb wore a crown of flowers on its head.
New archbishops receive the wool pallium on June 29.
The pallium is a band of white wool decorated with black crosses that is a sign of pastoral authority and a symbol of the archbishops' bond with the pope.
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(Source: AP)