Archbishop Golka Receives the Pallium from Pope Leo XIV
- André Escaleira, Jr.
- 13 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The Holy Father conferred the pallium on 35 archbishops from around the world, including Northern Colorado’s shepherd, at St. Peter’s Basilica on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.
(First photo by Lola Gomez/CNS; All other photos by André Escaleira, Jr./Denver Catholic)
Kneeling in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Denver Archbishop James Golka took up a new mantle as he received the pallium from Pope Leo XIV. Traditionally conferred on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, the pallium calls to mind the unity of the bishops, successors of apostles like Peter and Paul, and their ministry of shepherding and preaching the Word of God, as the apostles Peter and Paul did.
The woolen vestment, a two-inch wide white band with black crosses on it, was placed on his shoulders, symbolizing the weight of his ministry of shepherding God’s people in Northern Colorado.
“The pallium represents the Good Shepherd. A bishop is called to participate in his shepherding of his flock, especially of the lost, to help bring them back,” Archbishop Golka explained. “The shape of the pallium is like that of a shepherd carrying a sheep on his back. The pallium comes down in front as if the shepherd were holding the legs of the lamb, carrying the sheep on his back. It’s such a tender, pastoral thing to do, especially if this lamb has been lost, to bring them back to safety, to the Church.”
Throughout the weeks leading up to the Pallium Mass, especially during the pilgrimage in which nearly 100 family members, friends and faithful from across the Archdiocese of Denver accompanied him, the archbishop has emphasized that this milestone goes beyond him.
“This isn’t just for me; it’s for the whole archdiocese and the metropolitan,” he said. “I’m very humbled and honored to be able to represent all the people under our care.”
(Video: Catholic News Service)
That sort of unity was at the very heart of Pope Leo’s message to those gathered for the Pallium Mass, especially the 35 metropolitan archbishops receiving their pallia. In his homily, the Holy Father emphasized the importance of bringing people together, fostering dialogue, listening compassionately and “placing God at the center of one’s life and drawing close to one’s brothers and sisters, attentive to their circumstances and needs.”
“Dear friends, it is important for us today to look to these two saints — Peter and Paul — to understand how we, in turn, can be apostles and builders of unity, and generous servants of the truth in charity,” Pope Leo said. “In this spirit, we are about to celebrate the ancient and moving rite of the conferral of the pallia on the metropolitan archbishops. These bands of white wool adorned with crosses indeed express the commitment of every shepherd — and also of every Christian — to take upon their shoulders the brothers and sisters entrusted to them, like so many lambs of the Lord’s flock, and to sacrifice their energy, time, effort and even their lives for them. They do so in order that the Gospel may reach everyone, and the whole world may find in it harmony and concord.”
In that spirit, during a special Holy Hour the evening before he was to receive the pallium, Archbishop Golka asked those gathered not only to pray for him as he prepared to meet the Holy Father, but also for the faithful in the Archdiocese of Denver, Diocese of Colorado Springs, Diocese of Pueblo and Diocese of Cheyenne — all of which he oversees as metropolitan archbishop.
As he takes up the woolen mantle of his service, the proverbial lost lamb on his shoulders, Archbishop Golka expressed his desire to let those he serves open his heart.
“At both ends of the pallium, there’s a black mark that I’ve heard represents the bottom of the hoof of a lamb. It’s almost like the lamb left an imprint on the heart of the shepherd,” he reflected. “Christ does that for us: he lets us leave our mark on his heart and carries us with him in tenderness and love. As a bishop, it would be great to participate in that and to let those that I serve make a mark on my heart so that I’m more openhearted while caring for them.”
(Photos by André Escaleira, Jr./Denver Catholic)
But he can’t embark on this mission of reaching the lost sheep alone.
“Jesus goes out and finds the lost lamb and brings it back. I want to enlist all of you to help me do that,” Archbishop Golka said in a special video message to the Archdiocese of Denver. “There are many lost lambs in our world, in our diocese, in your family, in your neighborhood. We can’t save them; Jesus can. So let’s be about the work of going out and trying to find a way to bring them back to the Lord somehow.”
For those ready to go on mission with the archbishop — who at his Installation Mass said he was “all in” — one suggestion was given: live faithfully, joyfully and freely.
“The best way you can do that is by being a joyful, happy Catholic,” the archbishop said. “They’ll see that, and they’ll want that.”
Through the intercession and witness of the great Sts. Peter and Paul, Pope Leo concluded, each faithful Christian can move forward in faith, hope and charity to bring others to Christ.
“Let us pray to Saints Peter and Paul that they may sustain us on our journey of communion in the footsteps of the Savior. This is the path he has laid out for us, the very thing for which he prayed to the Father at the Last Supper (cf. John 17:21–23), and the goal toward which he has taught us to aspire with confident hope,” the Holy Father said.
