Archbishop Nichols receives the pallium
in St Peter’s Basilica
By staff reporter

3 July 2009

Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster greets Pope Benedict after receiving his second pallium in St Peter's Basilica on Monday (PA Photos)

Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster has said he was "honoured and moved" to receive a pallium from Pope Benedict XVI this week.

He was one of 34 archbishops to kneel before the Pope on Monday and have a white woollen band, known as a pallium, placed on his shoulders. He said the ceremony would always remind him of the strong tie between the Pope and the bishops of the Church. The pallium signified "the office of shepherd", he said. "Most importantly this office is exercised in union with the Pope, the visible centre of unity in the Church. Every time I wear the pallium I will recall this moment and our union with the Holy Father."

Archbishop Nichols now has two palliums - he received one as Archbishop of Birmingham. He cannot wear the first, though, because it cannot be transferred to another metropolitan province. Instead it must be kept in a safe place, for when he dies he will be buried in it.

In his homily Pope Benedict said bishops were called to watch over the faithful not like "prison guards" but like shepherds who viewed their flock with love and concern. The First Letter of St Peter, he said, describes Jesus as "the bishop of souls". "This means that he sees us from God's perspective. Watching from God's point of view, he has a vision of the whole and he sees dangers as well as hopes and possibilities," the Pope said.

He said that those appointed to serve the Church as bishops must model their ministry on that of Christ. Watching over the faithful, the Pope said, "certainly does not mean surveillance as is fitting for a prison guard. Rather it means seeing from on high, from the heights of God."

The words "bishop" and "shepherd" are almost interchangeable, he said. "To shepherd the flock means to be careful that the sheep find the right nourishment," which for Christians is the word of God, he said. Shepherds also "must know how to resist enemies, the wolves. He must lead, indicating the path and preserving the unity of the flock," the Pope added. Bishops also have a responsibility to help people see the Christian faith not "simply as a tradition, but to recognise it as the answer to our questions", he said.

But to discover the relevance of faith for everyday life, the Pope said, it is not enough just to think things through or to hear explanations. "We need the experience of faith, a living relationship with Jesus Christ. Faith must not remain a theory; it must be lived," he said.