"The Pallium Trip" 

July 6, 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

What did it feel like kneeling before the pope and receiving the pallium? Were you nervous? Did you have butterflies in your stomach? Were you scared?

These were just some of the questions that our pilgrimage group asked me about receiving the pallium. One person said, “Well, if you weren’t nervous, then I was nervous enough for you.”

Actually, I was very conscious of not wanting to trip over my own feet and fall on my face as I made my way to high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. It is one of the most recognizable churches in the entire world, and I worried I would end up tripping and embarrassing the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, our pilgrims and myself.

Fortunately, I didn’t lose my balance as I went to kneel before Pope Benedict XVI. He greeted me as a brother bishop in the apostolic tradition of the Church, and I could feel the strength he conveyed to me as he clasped my arms.

Then, as St. Peter’s successor, he handed me the pallium, a woven piece of wool placed over the outer vestment. It is worn only in the region assigned to the archbishops receiving it. (For me, that would be the State of Wisconsin.) It also serves as a sign of the courage necessary to assume the responsibility of leadership.

The pallium fits in a small storage box. There are special pins used to affix the pallium to the vestment. My pins were given to me as a gift from Archbishop James Keleher, the former Archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas, and Archbishop John Vlazny, the Archbishop of Portland, Oregon. Both were co-consecrators at my Episcopal ordination and they are life-long friends. I attended both of their pallium pilgrimages and never did I ever dream that they would be attending mine. I was extremely humbled by the whole experience.

I have also reflected on the great privilege it was to share the pallium trip with family and friends. What an honor it was for our pilgrimage group to pray vespers with the pope at St. Paul Outside the Walls and to attend Mass inside St. Peter’s with His Holiness. Imagine how few of the over one billion Catholics in the world ever have an opportunity to experience a papal ceremony in St. Peter’s.

Additionally, we offered Masses all throughout Rome and in Assisi (the town of St. Francis and St. Clare). As pilgrims, we took the opportunity to renew marriage vows of our couples; celebrated the sacrament of the sick with a number of our pilgrims; and prayed aloud in memory for the deceased loved ones of our group. At every celebration we offered prayers for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee -- for her bishops, priests, religious, deacons and lay faithful -- that together we might grow in holiness, mindful of our responsibility to live the Gospel message.

Traveling with a hundred people can be difficult to maneuver at times, but the attitude of the pilgrims made every moment a delight from the great meals at the restaurants, to the visits of museums, ancient Rome, artistic sights and the beautiful churches. Our pilgrims were courteous and solicitous for each other’s well-being. Even when glitches occurred, as they normally do on such trips, the group was patient and filled with a sense of joy that seemingly overcame every obstacle. I was so very proud to be with them as their archbishop, bishop, priest, relative and friend. They were pilgrims who truly understood that the journey to heaven is in loving God and loving one another.

See you at Mass!

Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee

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