2010-01-22 14:33:14

Pontiff blesses lambs on feast of St. Agnes


(January 22, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI observed an old tradition on Thursday, blessing two lambs whose wool will be used to weave palliums. The annual blessing takes place on the feast of St. Agnes, a martyr of early Christianity often symbolized by a lamb. The palliums woven from the lambs' wool are bestowed on new metropolitan archbishops on June 29, solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. The pallium is a white band embroidered with six black crosses and worn over the shoulders, and symbolizes the apostolic authority of a bishop and his special bond with the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church. The two lambs, generally the gift of religious who serve the Basilica of Saint Agnes Outside the Walls, are reared by the religious of the Roman convent of St. Lawrence in Panisperna. After shearing, the wool will be used by the Sisters of the Benedictine Convent of St. Cecilia in Trastevere to make the palliums.







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