Gulu Archbishop-designate receives pallium from Pope Francis
Newly appointed Gulu Archbishop Raphael P'mony Wokorach. PHOTO/HANDOUT
What you need to know:
- Father Philip Odi, the Executive Secretary Social Communications Uganda Episcopal Conference of Uganda explained that the pallium signifies the unity of the archbishop with the Holy Father ( the Pope).
The Gulu Archbishop-designate Raphael Wokorach received his pallium from Pope Francis during the mass solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome on June 29.
This follows his appointment as the Archbishop of Gulu archdiocese by Pope Francis on March 22, 2024.
The pallium is a liturgical vestment worn by the Pope, archbishops, and some bishops in the Roman Catholic Church. It is bestowed by the Pope on archbishops and bishops as a symbol of their participation in papal authority.
Father Joseph Mukiibi, the Head of Social Communication at the Archdiocese of Kampala said the pallium is a symbol of power that is vested in an archbishop of an archdiocese.
“It comes from the Holy City, it is the Pope who vests that power into the archbishop,” Father Mukiibi said.
Father Philip Odi, the Executive Secretary Social Communications Uganda Episcopal Conference of Uganda explained that the pallium signifies the unity of the archbishop with the Holy Father (Pope).
“A pallium is made out of the sheep wool, so it symbolises his authority as a shepherd but also his unity with the Holy Father (pope),” Father Odi said.
A pallium is given to newly appointed Catholic archbishops throughout the world.
A pallium is a circular band about two inches wide, worn about the neck, breast, and shoulders, with two pendants, one hanging down in front and another one at the back.
It is made of wool from two lambs presented annually as a tax by the Lateran canons regular to the chapter of St John on the feast of St Agnes.
The pallium is reserved to the people and Metropolitan Archbishop. It is not passed on to another because the Pope or the archbishop is buried with it when he dies.
Archbishop Wokorach, who replaces Archbishop John Baptist Odama, will be installed on July 14, 2024, at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Gulu.
Archbishop Wokorach, 63, a member of the Comboni Missionaries, was ordained priest on September 25, 1993, and was appointed bishop of Nebbi Catholic diocese on March 31, 2021.
Since then he has been serving as a bishop of Nebbi Catholic diocese until he was recently appointed by Pope Francis as the Archbishop of the Gulu archdiocese.
