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Home , Encyclical, Year of the Eucharist

St. Pius X

Restoring all things in Christ

Let's spread the Good Seed! By Sister Moira Debono, RSM, STD

“Sacrament of ”

“Oh,” you say, “with a like that you're writing about Holy Communion this week.” Well, no and yes. Next Thursday July 16 is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and it's the day chosen on which Archbishop Etienne will receive the from the Papal Nuncio. That is a mouthful of Catholic terminology! Read on and you'll amaze friends and family with your knowledge regarding: 1) Our Lady of Mount Car- mel, 2) an archbishop, 3) papal nuncio, 4) pallium, 5) particular signifi- cance for us in the Archdiocese of Seattle. 1) So, beginning with the reference to our Lady: Mount Carmel is the mountain in the Holy Land1 where in the 12th century lay hermits be- gan living community life which came to be known as the Carmelite Or- der. 2 On July 16 we honor Our Lady as their patroness (and we send best wishes to the Carmelite nuns in Shoreline and the Third Order lay Car- melites in our .) 2) When someone is named an archbishop they not only have responsibility over their own archdiocese which typically is the largest city in a given geographic area around which there are a number of smaller Archbishop Paul Etienne dioceses called suffragan dioceses, Church law gives an archbishop certain duties over the ecclesiastical (Church) prov- ince composed of his archdiocese and the suffragan dioceses and their . The dioceses of Spokane and Yakima are the suffragan dioceses of the Archdiocese of Seattle. 3) The papal or apostolic nuncio is the 's ambassador whose office is in Washing- ton D.C. Archbishop Christopher Pierre, a Frenchman, has been papal nuncio to the USA since 2016.

St. Pius X Catholic Church

Restoring all things in Christ

Let's spread the Good Seed! By Sister Moira Debono, RSM, STD

4) In the name of the Pope, Archbishop Pierre is coming to Seattle to confer the pallium on Archbishop Etienne. The pallium is a liturgical , almost like a collar or yoke with a front and back that drapes over the archbishop's vestment or . Its exact origin has been lost, but we have evidence of its use back in the 8th century. It was already given to archbishops at that time as a sign of their communion with the pope and collegiality with other archbishops. It is full of symbol- ism!

Archbishop Sartain with pallium

This collar is made of white lamb’s wool. The lambs are raised at a Roman monastery and are blessed usually by the Holy Father on 21 January—the feast of St Agnes who was a virgin-martyr. Besides the name Agnes meaning “lamb,” Jesus was called the Lamb of God by St John the Baptist. 3 You can see in the photo that there are a number of black crosses, five in total. These represent the five wounds of Christ. The pallium has three decorated pins representing the three nails which wounded our Lord. Thus, in seeing this yoke, we are reminded of the Priest and Lamb who offered Himself for us, and also of the Good Shep- herd who found the lost sheep and carried it tenderly on his shoulders. The wearer of the pallium is to imitate his Lord. 5) In years past, newly appointed archbishops would go to for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul on 29 June and receive the pal- lium from the Holy Father directly. I’ve had the privilege of attending this Mass and a poignant moment was when there were one or more pal- liums still left on the tray after all present had been vested by the Pope. St. Pius X Catholic Church

Restoring all things in Christ

Let's spread the Good Seed! By Sister Moira Debono, RSM, STD

In Churches under persecution, an archbishop might not have been granted a visa to leave his country or could not come for other serious rea- sons. These would be later hand delivered in one way or another. has changed this tradition by having a new archbishop invested with the pallium in his own cathedral by the papal nuncio of the country. The Pope feels it is important for as many of the faithful as possible of the local Church to witness the event. Well, now the pandemic has altered that possibility somewhat, but the Mass and presen- tation will be live-streamed and the priests and some of the faithful of the archdiocese will be able to be present. Gathering all the meanings I’ve opened up, we can add that the called the Church the sacrament or sign of unity and that this is most clearly manifested when the Archbishop is sur- rounded by his priests and the faithful at the . He is the spiritual fa- ther of this local Church who is in communion with the other bishops, with the Holy Father, with the whole of the apostolic succession that was founded by Christ on that Holy Thursday evening. The same Holy Thurs- day when He said to the apostles, the first bishops, “do this in memory of me” so that the Church can “draw her life from the .”4 In this Year of the Eucharist, let us pray for our Archbishop Paul Etienne that he may be attentive to the movements of the Holy Spirit and be a vigorous leader of the Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest shepherding us into communion with one another.

We would like to send Archbishop Etienne a spiritual bouquet from St Pius X Parish so he knows of our support and affection. If you would like to participate, please text or email to Flocknote the number/kind of prayer you will offer for him. Please do so by Tuesday, 14 July so we can prepare the card in a timely manner.

St. Pius X Catholic Church

Restoring all things in Christ

Let's spread the Good Seed! By Sister Moira Debono, RSM, STD

Sister Moira Debono, RSM, STD

______1 Mount Carmel is near the Mediterranean Sea which is associated with the Prophet Elijah (1 Kings 18:16-45) 2 The great St Teresa of Avila and the Little Flower, St Therese of Lisieux and St John of the Cross are just three famous Carmelite saints. 3 The prepared palliums used to be kept in an ornate chest just in front of an image of our Lord in the confessio of St Peter’s basilica in Rome. The tomb of St Peter is just behind this image so pilgrims mistakenly thought the bones of St Peter were actually in the chest. For this reason, the palliums are no longer stored there. 4 John Paul II. Ecclesia et eucharistia, 1. , 2003. http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/it/. index.html