The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1885-03-19
THE PALLlUM.


History of the Garment Which is Con.
ferred ON Catholic ArchbishOps.
The pallium is narrow band of wool
sncircling the shoulders, with pendants
n front and behind, and is worn over
:he chasuble. 1t is evidently a remnant
or souvenir of an ampler garment. AS
he sacerdotal state merely represents
border of an ancient robe of the same
name, which enYeloped the entire per-
son-all but the embroidered parts be-
ing now cast aside-so it is with the pal
ium. z ~ ~
Various opinions have been held as to,
its origin; some ascribe it to the Jewish
ephod, to the Roman toga, and others
to the ordinary mantle of same name
worn by Romans. By church authori-
ties it is claimed that st. Paul, the first
hermit, near the end of his days receiY-
ing a visit from St. Anthony, begged
him to procure for him the robe of the
great Athanasias that he might be bu-
ried in it. On st. Anthony's return with
the cloak, he found Paul already dead.
and, executing the pious request, took
for himself Paups tunic of palm leaves,
and ever afterwards wore it ON the
high festivals of Easter and Pentecost.
1t is also narrated that St. Igna-
thus, patriarch of Constantinople, wore
the cloak of st. James the
Apostle. Liberatus, the deacon
in the sixth century, states that it is
the custom at Alexandria for him who
succeeds deceased bishop to keep vigil
by the corpse of the departed, and hav-.
ing buried him to take the pallium of
St. Mark and place it on his own neck,
after which he is held to lawfully oc-
cupy his place. According to this
writer each succeeding patriarch of
Alexandria assumed the pallium of st.
Mark and was considered as legiti-
niately inducted into Office. 1
A similar custom prevailed in the
Church at Constantinople. These facts,
it is argued, establish an. antecedent
probability that the successor of st.
Peter assumed also as the insignia Of
his Office the pallium of st. Peter, and
in confirmation of the fact of the early
Popes wearing the pallium the protraits
of the Popes in the Basilica of st. Paul
at Rome, in which the mosaic protraits
of the Pope back to st. Leo /. in the
year 440, these early Pontiffs are uni
fornly clothed in the white tunic and
while woolen pallium always attributed
to St. Peter. i .s8d5qh .tE
There is also the old Mosaic, of the
''Scala Santa near ST. John Lateran's g,
in which st. Peter is twice represented.
first clad in the white pallium, as receiv-
ing the keys of the Kingdom, and next
handing the pallium to his successor,
Pope Leo Ill
+ Each succeeding Pontiff is invested
with this badge of sovereign authority.
not at the Cathedral of Rome, but at
the sepulchre of the Prince of the Apos-
ties. ----7s- sss---
These Pontiffs conceded this em-.
blem of power and jurisdiction to other
bishops in testimony of the unity
of the faith and of hierarchial
communion From the year 1856
the custom of conferring the pallium
has extended down to the present era
First to the Bishop of Ostia, then by
the Roman Pontiffs to their legates in
Gaul, Spain, Germany, Greece, Great
Britain and other countries, and thus it
|. passed into a recognized law as far
back as 900 years ago.-N. O. Times