Off to Rome for a pallium

DiNardo to receive symbol of leadership

With pallium, archbishop will formalize his bond with pope and archdiocese

By TARA DOOLEY
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston's second archbishop, Daniel N. DiNardo, will leave Sunday for Rome to receive the garment that symbolizes his bond to the pope and the area's 1.3 million Roman Catholics.

In a Mass Thursday morning at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI will place the white woolen band, a pallium, around the archbishop's neck.

"The pallium sits on you somewhat like a yoke," DiNardo said. "It shouldn't be a heavy yoke; Christ's yoke is easy. But it is a sense of responsibility you owe to the unity of the church and your own archdiocese."

The pallium is made of sheep's wool blessed by the pope and is adorned with six black crosses. It is bestowed on archbishops who lead regional Catholic communities. The pope wears a pallium of a different design.

The ceremony, traditionally held during the Catholic feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, will include archbishops from around the globe and two other Americans: George Niederauer of San Francisco and Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, D.C., who was bishop in Pittsburgh when DiNardo was a priest there.

DiNardo, a native of Ohio, said he had often attended pallium Masses when he worked in Rome from 1984 to 1991. But he said he expected this ceremony to be an important personal experience.

"It is quite different when you are the one receiving it," he said. "You walk down the aisle and then you kneel before the Holy Father, and he places it on you. There is a sense of communion with Peter all the way through Benedict XVI."

In a news conference Friday, DiNardo outlined some of the changes he has made since taking over the archdiocese.

In recognition of the area's growing Hispanic Catholic community, he moved Auxiliary Bishop Joe S. Vasquez to the central job of chancellor. He also named Christina Deajon, a lay lawyer for the archdiocese, vice chancellor. She is the first woman, first layperson and first African-American to hold the title.

tara.dooley@chron.com