Pope Benedict XVI will impose the pallium on new metropolitan archbishops in a ceremony at St. Peter's basilica on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Vatican liturgical office has confirmed.The pallium is a liturgical vestment symbolizing the authority of a metropolitan archbishop. A white woolen strip decorated by six black crosses, it is worn across the shoulders, outside the chasuable. It is worn only my archbishops, and only on formal liturgical occasions.
The vestment is made from wool that is shorn from lambs that are blessed by the Pope, in another ancient Roman tradition, on the feast of St. Agnes, January 21.
These vestments are stored in the Vatican basilica until the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, when the new metropolitan archbishops travel to Rome to receive them, in a ceremony that accents the communion between these prelates and the Holy See.
Last year, as he imposed the pallium on the 27 new archbishops who had been appointed over the previous 12 months, Pope Benedict delivered a lengthy homily on the importance of episcopal unity and communion with the Holy See.
The entire liturgical ceremony took nearly 3 hours. This year's ceremony will begin at 9:30 on Friday morning, probably lasting until after noon.
All of the archbishops newly appointed during the past year are expected to attend the June 29 ceremony.
If any metropolitan archbishops are unable to travel to Rome for the occasion, a delegate from the Holy See will impose the pallium on them.
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