January 21, 2013 - Pope Benedict XVI on Monday observed an age-old annual tradition
on the January 21 liturgical Feast of St. Agnes, accepting two lambs whose white wool
will be used to weave the pallium, which metropolitan archbishops wear around their
necks as a symbol of their authority and unity with the Pope. St. Agnes, meaning
lamb in Latin, was a popular Roman teenage saint of the early 4th century, known for
her consecrated virginity who was martyred for refusing to worship pagan gods. This
is why one of the lambs wears a crown of white flowers and the other red, symbolizing
Agnes’ purity and martyrdom respectively. The lambs that are raised by the nuns
of the Roman monastery of St. Lawrence in Panisperna are blessed at a ceremony in
the Basilica of St. Agnes, on Jan. 21, and then presented to the Pope. The palliums
are given annually to newly-appointed metropolitan archbishops by the Pope on June
29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.