Viennese Archbishop Grünwidl receives a very special honor from the Pope

Among them are Prague Archbishop Stanislav Pribyl (54), New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks (58) and the two Polish archbishops Cardinal Grzegorz Rys (62) from Krakow and Cardinal Konrad Krajewski (62) from Łódź, as Kathpress reports.

In his homily, the Pope highlighted the importance of the pallium. Leo

Cardinal Schönborn also attended the ceremony

Grünwidl’s predecessor, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, also celebrated the festive service in St. Peter’s Basilica, which began at 9:30 a.m. The archbishop emeritus of Vienna also took part in the meeting of cardinals called by the Pope in the Vatican from Friday.

The pallium, a ribbon made of white lamb’s wool about five centimeters wide, is traditionally awarded on June 29th for the solemnity of the apostles Peter and Paul. Archbishop Grünwidl also associates this date with his ordination to the priesthood on June 29, 1988 in Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral by Cardinal Franz König (1905-2004), the Archdiocese of Vienna previously recalled in a broadcast.

Only archbishops who head an ecclesiastical province are allowed to wear the pallium. In Austria these are the archbishops of Vienna and Salzburg. In addition to the Archdiocese of Vienna, the Vienna Ecclesiastical Province also includes the dioceses of Linz, St. Pölten and Eisenstadt.

Wool from “Agnes lambs”

The term “pallium” comes from Latin and means “cover”. It originally referred to a cloak-like outer garment of the Romans. Since the sixth century, the pallium was part of the dress code of the popes, who then also awarded it as a decoration to certain bishops. From the middle of the ninth century onwards, archbishops were obliged to request the pallium from the pope. Only then were they allowed to exercise their office as metropolitan bishops. The wool of the pallium traditionally comes from lambs that are blessed in Rome on January 21st, the feast day of Saint Agnes.

The pallium is strictly tied to the office. It is awarded personally to an archbishop, but is only valid for his service in a specific metropolitan see. The metropolitan may only wear the pallium within his own ecclesiastical province. With the end of the term of office as archbishop, liturgical use also ends.

The Catholic Church remembers the apostles Peter and Paul on June 29th. According to tradition, they died as martyrs in Rome around the year 64 and are also the patron saints of the city, which is why the day is a public holiday in Rome and the Vatican.