On the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles, Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez and the other 53 newly appointed metropolitan archbishops from around the world received their pallium, a liturgical vestment worn to symbolize their authority and unity with the pope. Pope Leo XIV blessed and imposed the palliums upon the new archbishops during the Solemn Mass.
The 3-inch-wide woolen band has 14-inch strips that hang down the front and the back and are tipped with black silk to represent dark hooves of the sheep that the archbishop symbolically carries over his shoulders. The word “pallium” is Latin for mantle or cloak. The archbishop wears the vestment when he celebrates Mass in his province.
We congratulate and thank God for Archbishop Vásquez and pray for his safe return as he continues to lead the Archdiocese.
(CNS photos/Lola Gomez)
