Homily of H.E., Most Rev. Charles John Brown D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines
Imposition of the Pallium on His Grace, Most Rev. Rex Andrew C. Alarcon, D.D.
September 21, 2024 | Naga Metropolitan Cathedral
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened [with many things]...Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart...For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Your Excellency, the Most Rev. Rex Andrew Clement Alarcon, Archbishop of Cáceres; Your Excellency, the Most Rev. Adolfo Tito C. Yllana, Apostolic Nuncio to Israel, and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine; Your Excellency, the Most Rev. Rolando Tria Tirona, O.C.D., Archbishop-Emeritus of Cáceres; brother archbishops and bishops who have come especially from the Ecclesiastical Province of Cáceres, from the Region of Bicol; other archbishops and bishops; priests concelebrating here in big numbers from all of the ecclesiastical province; religious sisters in big numbers here this morning; religious brothers; lay faithful; devotees of Our Lady of Peñafrancia:
For me as your apostolic nuncio this morning, as a representative of the Holy Father Pope Francis, it gives me so much joy and happiness in his name, to have bestowed a Pallium on His Excellency, the Most Rev. Rex Andrew Clement Alarcon, Archbishop of Cáceres, who was installed here last May 2nd, your newly installed Archbishop.
The Pallium
The Pallium, as we heard in the explanation of the liturgy this morning, is a liturgical vestment associated with the Pope, with the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter. For centuries upon centuries in Rome, after a new pope is elected, chosen by the Cardinals, he then begins his formal ministry as Holy Father with a Solemn Mass of Inauguration, in which the new pope receives two important symbols: the Pallium and the Fisherman's Ring.
The Pallium is a kind of woolen collar, which is placed on the shoulders of the new pope. As a reminder to him that he is to be the Good Shepherd who seeks out the lost sheep; who carries the sheep home on his shoulders. The Pallium is a symbol of the yoke of Christ, the Good Shepherd.
For many centuries now, the Pope in Rome has chosen to give the Pallium also to other bishops. Bishops throughout the world as a sign of his special role, which some bishops have, together with the Pope, in shepherding the Church of Christ. In our own time, the Pope shares the Pallium only with bishops who preside over what we call an “Ecclesiastical Province”, which means the territory comprised of diocese surrounding an archdiocese.
Metropolitan Archbishop
Each Metropolitan Archbishop in the world receives the Pallium from the Pope, as a sign of his communion with the Holy Father; but also, as a sign of his special responsibilities within his Ecclesiastical Province. So, today, Archbishop Alarcon has received the Pallium at my hands as a sign of his special relationship to Pope Francis; but also, as a sign of his special responsibilities, not only here in the Archdiocese of Cáceres, but also in the entire Ecclesiastical Province—that is, over the suffragan Diocese of Daet, Legazpi, Libmanan, Masbate, Sorsogon, and Virac.
Of course, all of those dioceses have their own bishops. Most of whom are with us here this morning. Every bishop, each and every bishop is the representative of Christ, the Vicar of Christ, the high priest in his own diocese; but at the same time, the Metropolitan Archbishop is given special responsibility in Canon Law (Cann. 435 - 438) to be vigilant, to watch over the entire province. So that the Catholic faith, and the life of the Church is carefully preserved and enhanced. The Metropolitan Archbishop is called to keep the Pope informed.
The Yoke of Christ
There are many beautiful traditions associated with the Pallium. As I mentioned, the Pallium is made of wool. The wool from the Pallium comes from lambs that are blessed by the Pope on the Feast Day of St. Agnes, the beautiful virgin martyr of Rome, the radiant martyr of Rome, whose name in Latin, “Agnes” means “lamb”. So, the wool is then fashioned and made into a Pallium under the authority and the supervision of Benedictine nuns in Rome. Then, once these Pallium, or Palia in the plural, are made, they're kept in an ornamental chest in St Peter's Basilica. A kind of a container in the Basilica, directly under the high altar in St Peter's. Those of you who visit St Peter's on pilgrimage, when you go to the high altar, you look down, you will see an ornamental container, a chest, in which these Pallium, the Palia, are kept, close to the bones of St Peter.
Then each year, on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, that is June 29, the Palia are taken from the chest and given to the newly appointed archbishops who come to Rome throughout the entire world, as a sign that they are to be images of the Good Shepherd. They are to carry the yoke of Christ, the yoke of authority in the Church, seeking out the lost sheep, bringing them home rejoicing.
So, the Pallium encompasses a rich symbolism. That beautiful symbolism, first of all, of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Pope Francis reminds us that only a pastor, a shepherd, who resembles Jesus, can earn the trust of His flock. Because Jesus is the door (Jn. 10:7). Jesus' style must be the style of the shepherd. There is no other. We see that, don't we? In the motto of your newly installed Archbishop, “Servus Tuus Sum” (I am Your Servant). A pastor who reminds us and resembles Jesus.
As I said, the Pallium also comes from lambs that are blessed on a feast day of St. Agnes. Saint Agnes is a martyr who died for love of Christ, a witness to Christ, a virgin martyr of Rome. So, there's an association with martyrdom also in the Pallium.
Pope Francis has also told us, preaching in April 26, 2015, “The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11): these words are wholly fulfilled when Christ, freely obeying the will of the Father, is immolated (offered) on the Cross. The significance that Jesus is ‘the Good Shepherd’ thus becomes completely clear: He gives life, Jesus offered his life in sacrifice for all of us…Jesus is the Good Shepherd!”
Every bishop should imitate the Good Shepherd.
The Yoke of Authority
Finally, on the Pallium (perhaps you can see in the video screens), there are crosses: six crosses made evident on the Pallium. These six crosses obviously represent the Cross of Christ. Together, this image of martyrdom, the cross, and the yoke, imitate, or we should say, exemplify, the weight of authority. To be an authority in the Church. To exercise the authority of Christ.
That's what it means to be a bishop, an archbishop, and a pope. With archbishops who are metropolitans like Archbishop Rex, we can say that the yoke of authority is visible on his shoulders in the Pallium that he wears. Jesus tells us, as I said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart” (Mt. 11:28-29). When we look at that yoke of authority as bishops, sometimes we become frightened, the way Our Lady was when the angel came to her in Nazareth, the Angel Gabriel; but the angel reassured Mary, as we heard in the Gospel, “Nothing will be impossible for God” (Lk. 1:37).
So, when we put the weight of authority on a bishop, on your archbishop, the yoke of authority, the yoke of Christ, it's the yoke that Jesus makes easy. “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Why? Because Jesus is the Shepherd. Jesus is the One who is leading us to the Father. Every bishop is to imitate and to exemplify Jesus as a servant, “Servus Tuus Sum”, the motto of Archbishop Rex.
How beautifully that is in evidence this morning as we place the yoke of authority, the Pallium on his shoulders. We promise you, Archbishop Rex, that we will pray for you. We will pray for you as you exercise this yoke of authority. The cathedral is crowded with people this morning. What a beautiful sign of the Catholic faith here in the Region of Bicol. All of you Bicolanos, show the faith of Christ, the Catholic faith that lives here in the Philippines, living here in this region. That faith is sustained by the preaching, the teaching, the governing of the bishops. That is a yoke of authority. We need to respect our bishops. To respect their authority, to realize that “They're carrying a weight that most of us are not carrying”, as St. Augustine said. They're carrying a weight of authority. We need to respect that weight of authority. We need to pray for them because they're carrying the cross of Christ. The Pallium is inscribed with six crosses, reminding us that the bishop is a symbol of Christ.
So, we pray to our beloved Ina, this day, on the ninth day of your novena, as we get close to the celebration tomorrow, her Feast Day, Our Lady of Peñafrancia—we pray in heartfelt gratitude for the gift of your new Archbishop. We promise you, Archbishop Rex, as I said, that we will pray for you. We will ask Ina, Our Lady, Ina, to watch over you, to intercede for you, so that you will exercise the yoke of authority. That yoke which Jesus makes easy, that burden that Jesus makes light.
Transcribed by Joel V. Ocampo Photos from The Naga Metropolitan Cathedral Facebook page
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