Tomorrow, the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Pope Francis, as he does every year, will bless the palliums that will then be delivered and imposed in their respective sees to the Metropolitan Archbishops appointed during the year. In the early years of his pontificate Pope Francis used to impose the pallium on the metropolitans, as did his predecessors. Later, however, the pontiff decided only to bless them and then have them imposed in their proper sees by one of his representatives.
The pallium is that special white wool scarf with black crosses worn by the Pope and metropolitan archbishops and signifying the special bond between the Bishop of Rome and the individual metropolitan sees.
Tomorrow at St. Peter’s, the pallium will be given to Europeans: Ivan Maffeis, Metropolitan Archbishop of Perugia-Città del Pieve (Italy) Norbert José Henri Turini, Metropolitan Archbishop of Montpellier (France); Enrique Benavent Vidal, Metropolitan Archbishop of Valencia (Spain); Mate Uzinić, Metropolitan Archbishop of Rijeka (Croatia); Ladislav Nemet, S.V.D., Metropolitan Archbishop of Belgrade (Serbia); Giovanni Checchinato, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cosenza-Bisignano (Italy); José María Gil Tamayo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Granada (Spain); Francisco José Prieto Fernández, Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Laurent Le Boulc’h, Metropolitan Archbishop of Lille (France); Dražen Kutleša, Metropolitan Archbishop of Zagreb (Croatia); Adrian Józef Galbas, H.H., Metropolitan Archbishop of Katowice (Poland); José Cobo Cano, Metropolitan Archbishop of Madrid (Spain); Luc Terlinden, Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels (Belgium).
The Americas will be represented by Luis Fernando Rodríguez Velásquez, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cali (Colombia); José Carlos Souza Campos, Metropolitan Archbishop of Montes Claros (Brazil); Misael Vacca Ramírez, Metropolitan Archbishop of Villavicencio (Colombia); Juarez Sousa da Silva, Metropolitan Archbishop of Teresina (Brazil); Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Caracas (Venezuela); Hugo Alberto Torres Marín, Metropolitan Archbishop of Santa Fe de Antioquia (Colombia); José Vicente Nácher Tatay, C. M., Metropolitan Archbishop of Tegucigalpa (Honduras); Michael Leniham, O.F.M, Metropolitan Archbishop of San Pedro Sula (Honduras); Helizandro Terán Bermúdez, O.S.A., Metropolitan Archbishop of Mérida (Venezuela); Frank Leo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto (Canada); Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, Metropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires (Argentina); George Leo Thomas, Metropolitan Archbishop of Las Vegas (USA); Paulo Jackson Nóbrega de Sousa, Metropolitan Archbishop of Olinda and Recife (Brazil).
The Asians on the other hand are Simon Ok hyun-jin, Metropolitan Archbishop of Gwangju (Korea); Victor Barnuevo Bendico, Metropolitan Archbishop of Capiz (Philippines); Julius Sullan Tonel, Metropolitan Archbishop of Zamboanga (Philippines
For Africa two Metropolitans: João Carlos Hatoa Nunes, Metropolitan Archbishop of Maputo (Mozambique) and Jean De Dieu Raoelison, Metropolitan Archbishop of Antananarivo (Madagascar).
Finally for Oceania the pallium intended for Paul Gerard Martin, S.M., Metropolitan Archbishop of Wellington (New Zealand).
