Most every Catholic can identify members of the clergy by their attire: a bishop by his mitre, a cardinal by his scarlet zucchetto, a parish priest by his black cassock and Roman collar. A garment we may not be as familiar with is the white mantle worn by the pope and metropolitan archbishops known as the pallium.

The pallium is a long, narrow band, made of wool, adorned by six crosses and draped around the neck and shoulders. It represents the Good Shepherd, shouldering the lost sheep, and its crosses symbolize the five wounds of the crucified Christ; three of the crosses are adorned with a gold pin, reminiscent of the nails used during the Crucifixion. The crosses on the papal pallium are red and those on the archbishop pallium are black. The metropolitan archbishop receives the pallium from the pope and wears it over his chasuble to signify his office and his allegiance to the pontiff. A new pope receives the papal pallium during his inauguration.

The word “pallium” comes from the Latin word meaning cloak, mantle or scarf. The garment’s history can be traced to Pope Mark in the fourth century; beginning around the eighth century, the pallium was “solely an ecclesiastical decoration … and a further means of binding the recipient to the papacy. … The metropolitans (the archbishops of later times) asserted it had been from of old enjoyed by their episcopal predecessors and based their claim, so to say, on the ground the pallium would but fittingly distinguish them from the mere bishops” (Karl Theodor Griesinger, “The Mysteries of the Vatican,” 1864). It was around that era that the Holy See decided the metropolitan could not exercise his new office until he received the pallium from the pope and, at the time, took an oath to the pope. There was a period in the Middle Ages when receiving the pallium meant making a monetary contribution to the Vatican.

Significance and Symbolism

The pope’s pallium is a visual signal of his papal authority. The archbishop’s pallium signifies his complete unity with the pope and identifies him as the leader of a metropolitan archdiocese. A metropolitan archbishop leads a single diocese in a large city and has some jurisdiction over other dioceses — called suffragan dioceses — in a geographical area. For example, the ecclesiastical province or metropolitan archdiocese of Philadelphia includes all eight dioceses in Pennsylvania.

Certain bishops from the beginning of the Church took on responsibilities similar to today’s metropolitan archbishop. These were men from great sees — including St. Cyprian in Carthage, St. Athanasius in Alexandria, St. Irenaeus in Lyon and St. John Chrysostom in Constantinople — who defended Church teachings and traditions. Such bishops represented a geographical area to the world and to the Holy See. They were individuals, considered great among equals, who saw their duty to maintain Church unity and the importance of their relationship with the pope even in times of disagreement. The metropolitan archbishop of today continues this role, committed to the teachings of Jesus, leading the faithful united under the Church and the vicar of Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI explained the pallium’s significance in an address in 2008, saying: “The pallium is worn by metropolitan archbishops as a symbol of their hierarchical communion with the successor of Peter in the governance of God’s people. It is made of sheep wool, as a symbol of Jesus Christ, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and the Good Shepherd who keeps vigilant watch over his flock. The pallium reminds bishops that, as vicars of Christ in their local Churches, they are called to be shepherds after the example of Jesus” (June 30, 2008).

A mantle or cloak has often been a sign of authority, power or special status, and is frequently identified as such in Scripture. An indication of the prominence of a mantle is found in the life of the prophet Elijah: Standing at the Jordan River with the prophet Elisha just before he is taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot, “Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water, and the two of them crossed over onto dry land” (2 Kgs 2:8). When Elijah was taken to heaven in the whirlwind, “[Elisha] picked up the mantle which had fallen from Elijah. … He struck the water [with the mantle]: it divided, and he crossed over” (2:13-14).

The importance of unity, the kind we affirm during the Nicene Creed, is also prominent in Scripture. During the Last Supper, Jesus expressed the communion he had with the apostles, saying: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). These words are, of course, applicable to every Christian, but Jesus was speaking directly to the apostles, speaking about being united with him, and from that unity calling them to be messengers of the Good News. Today a similar unity exists between archbishops and the pope and is pronounced by the wearing of a pallium.

Receiving the Pallium

The symbolism associated with the pallium is connected to the greatest of all the missionaries, Sts. Peter and Paul. They spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth and brought Jesus Christ to people everywhere. The pallium reminds the archbishop of his calling to live in the manner and shadow of these saints and his bond with St. Peter’s successor. Newly selected metropolitan archbishops receive their palliums from the pope on the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29.

Each pallium is made from the wool of two lambs blessed by the pope five months earlier, on the feast of St. Agnes, Jan. 21, a tradition going back 500 years. The night before the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, the palliums are placed into a special casket-like container and laid near the tomb of St. Peter. This action indicates a direct connection between St. Peter and the new archbishop. The next day the pope blesses the palliums and gives them to the archbishops, but there is no investiture ceremony, a change made by Pope Francis in 2015. For many years, the pope placed the vestment on the shoulders of the archbishop. Today, the pallium is still conferred by the pope on the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, but investiture takes place in the home cathedral of the archbishop, with the papal nuncio to that country presiding.

The words of the investiture ceremony include:

To the glory of almighty God and the praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the apostles Peter and Paul, in the name of Pope (Name), bishop of Rome and of the holy Roman Church for the honor of the Church of (Diocese) which has been placed in your care and as a symbol of your authority as metropolitan archbishop, we confer on you the pallium, taken from the tomb of Peter to wear within the limits of your ecclesiastical province. May this pallium be a symbol of unity and a sign of your communion with the Apostolic See, a bond of love and an incentive to courage. On the day of the coming and manifestation of our great God and chief shepherd, Jesus Christ, may you and the flock entrusted to you be clothed with immortality and glory.

The pope can wear his pallium any time he desires, but typically does so on special occasions. An archbishop wears his pallium only within his ecclesiastical province: at solemn Mass, ordinations, the blessing of an abbot or abbess, consecrations to a life of virginity, or the dedication of a church or altar. Should an archbishop be assigned to a new metropolitan archdiocese, he is obligated to request a new pallium. When either a pope or archbishop dies in office, he is buried wearing his pallium; if he dies outside office, the pallium is placed in his casket. 

D.D. EMMONS writes from Pennsylvania.