Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Monday, June 29, is the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, the great patrons of the City of Rome. This year I will be in Rome to celebrate this feast. I will be concelebrating the Holy Eucharist with Pope Benedict, XVI, and at the Mass the Holy Father will bestow the Pallium on me, along with all the other Metropolitan Archbishops named in this past year.
The Pallium is a narrow band or collar of white wool, with six black crosses. An Archbishop who leads an Ecclesiastical Province (a regional grouping of dioceses) wears this vestment around his neck at Mass as a sign of his leadership and authority.
For me, this event is one of the great graces of my priesthood, and I’m sending this letter to invite you, who are part of my family of faith, to share it with me. To that end, let me say here a word about the meaning of the Pallium. This vestment is a symbol of my pastoral office and of my communion with the Holy Father and the other Archbishops of the Church, a bond that extends all the way back to St. Peter and St. Paul. So, I will come into St. Peter’s Basilica with all of you held in the prayer of my heart. As I kneel on the platform over St. Peter’s Tomb, I will be begging for two things from God: first that He strengthen me to be a good shepherd of His people; and second, that He help all of you and your families to grow in that same life and holiness that the Apostles handed on to us from Jesus. In return, I ask that on June 29 – especially at Mass, if you are able to get to church – you lift up in prayer me, together with all my brother priests, that we be filled with the love and courage and zeal that burn in the priestly Heart of Christ.
There is so much more that I would like to share with you, much more than can be put into this letter. To help all of you be part of the Pallium pilgrimage, even if you cannot travel with me to Rome, I will be sharing my experience here on this blog, and writing about it at greater length in my June 26 column for The Michigan Catholic. Our Archdiocesan Communications Department will be sending back reports about this event to be posted on our website: aodonline.org/pallium. (CTND will be carrying the Mass on our local cable channel, and will re-broadcast several times in the coming week. Whenever you hear about the Pallium, please remember to ask the Lord to help all of us be better Catholics: better disciples of His and better companions of the Apostles.
Entrusting you and all of the people and parishes of our Archdiocese to the loving care of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, I remain
Sincerely yours in Christ,
The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron
Archbishop of Detroit
June 21, 2009 at 12:16 pm |
Please know you take our prayers with you as you go to receive your pallium. What a wonderful thing for you and for all of Detroit & Michigan. Through the intercession of our Mother Mary and with the Holy Spirit you will be our holy shepherd. Thank you for your unselfish service to us, the Church.
June 21, 2009 at 3:13 pm |
Thank you for being our shepherd! May God bless you abundantly and Mother Mary watch over you.
June 22, 2009 at 9:39 pm |
How blessed for us to have a dedicated, compassionate, zealous shepherd like you! Thank you!
You are in our daily prayer.
June 22, 2009 at 10:15 pm |
Your updates are great since it allows us to “be” with you in Rome. Thanks for taking your entire flock along with you. Know of our prayers, love and support.
P.S. Please send Fr. Gallagher our love and prayers especially from SHMS and Traverse City.
June 23, 2009 at 1:53 pm |
We thank God for blessing us by giving you to us as our shepherd, May he stregthen you and continue to bless you.
June 23, 2009 at 2:26 pm |
God bless you Archbishop Vigneron! Please know of the prayers and support of your seminarians, not only on this day but in the many that will follow.
June 24, 2009 at 7:08 pm |
Archbishop:
We prayed for you this morning at Mass at St. Augustine’s, Pleasanton.
The Diocese of Oakland will be thinking of you with gratitude as you receive your pallium. Say a prayer for us in Rome.
June 25, 2009 at 11:41 am |
Muchas felicitaciones y bendiciones en este día tan especial. Lo tendré siempre en mis oraciones en unión con nuestra comunidad de hispanoparlantes del suroeste de Detroit. Que Dios Nuestro Señor le bendiga siempre.
June 25, 2009 at 6:25 pm |
Archbishop Vigneron,
Many blessings for you. You will be remembered in prayer on the 29th. We will be celebrating a Solemn Mass on that morning to conclude the Year of St. Paul, and you will have special place in our prayers.
Be sure to visit the tomb of St. Gaspar (just to the left of the Trevi Fountain) and say a prayer for us while you are there.
June 25, 2009 at 9:16 pm |
Archbishop Vigneron,
May the Lord bless you many times over during your pilgrimage! God has reminded us of his infinite goodness in having brought you back home as our shepherd. We thank God today for His many blessings and pray that He showers you and your family in His Divine Mercy. Ahhh…may you and all the pilgrims in Rome be drenched in His Divine Love!
With all our love,
The Bauer’s