Background on the Pallium

Our archdiocesan newspaper, The Criterion, recently put together an article that provides some great details about what a pallium is and the process each goes through in being made. It was written by John Shaughnessy:

As he kneels before Pope Francis at the Vatican on June 29, Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin will receive one of the most special, humbling and uplifting symbols of the Church.

The pope will place a pallium—a circular band made from lamb’s wool—around the shoulders of Archbishop Tobin, who was installed as the leader of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis on Dec. 3, 2012.

The ritual will take place in St. Peter’s Basilica, during a special Mass when the pope gives a pallium to new archbishops from around the world—just as the pope does every June on the feast day of Sts. Peter and Paul.

For Archbishop Tobin, the pallium will symbolize his role as the shepherd of the Church in central and southern Indiana, the leader who is entrusted to care for his people including, and especially, those who have slipped away or become lost.

The placement of the pallium on Archbishop Tobin will also mark one of the intriguing, ancient traditions of the Church—a tradition that involves two lambs, Trappist monks, religious sisters, an early Christian martyr and the burial place of St. Peter.

To describe that tradition, one good way to start is with the creatures who literally give a part of themselves to create the pallium—the lambs.

 
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