During this morning’s Mass celebrating the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, the Holy Father conferred the pallium on 38 new metropolitan archbishops.

To the glory of Almighty God and the praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the apostles Peter and Paul, and of the Holy Roman Church, for the honor of the Churches, which have 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 provinces.

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.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski:

Archbishop Thomas Wenski receives the Pallium | Reuters

2009 Pallium Mass in Rome | REUTERS

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last couple of days, which have been rather eventful for me. On Friday morning I flew out of Orlando International Airport bound for Los Angeles to celebrate the coming together of my brother and his fiancé in matrimony. I flew home last evening. Needless to say, I am a bit tired but still kickin’. So, in case you have been out of the loop in recent days or weeks with your vacation plans, here is a bit of a look at the week ahead (well, at least the first couple of days of it).

This evening, the Holy Father will celebrate vespers for tomorrow’s Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul with the newly installed Metropolitan Archbishops from throughout the world. Tomorrow, a Mass will celebrated where the palliums will be conferred on the new metropolitans, all 38 of them, by Pope Benedict XVI. The pallium is a wool band about “two inches wide, worn about the neck,

Basilica of St. Peter, Vatican | Source: Wikipedia

It has been quite a couple of months, some of the busiest the blog has ever seen. In all, we have seen ten holy men appointed Archbishops or Bishops to various dioceses throughout the United States since April. Three liturgies of either welcome or installation have already been celebrated; these include, the welcome ceremony for Coadjutor Archbishop Jose Gomez in Los Angeles, the installation of Archbishop Thomas Wenski in Miami, and the installation of Bishop Thomas Paprocki in Springfield, IL. In the upcoming months, we will see the remaining seven ordained and/or installed in various celebrations:

• Bishop-elect Timothy Doherty will be ordained to the episcopacy and installed as the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana on July 15, 2010.
• Bishop-elect David O’Connell will be ordained to episcopacy and welcomed as the Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton on July 30, 2010 in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption.
• Bishop-elect John J. McIntyre will be ordained to the episcopacy and take over the office of Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on August 6, 2010 at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.
• Bishop-elect Michael Fitzgerald will be ordained to the episcopacy and take over the office of Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on August 6, 2010 at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.
• Bishop-designate William Patrick Callahan will be installed as the tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Lacrosse on August 11, 2010.
• Bishop-designate Joseph McFadden will be installed as the tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg on August 18, 2010.
• Bishop-elect F. Richard Spencer will be ordained to the episcopacy and take over the office of Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services during a 2:00 p.m. celebration at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC on September 8, 2010.