>Photos: Pope Benedict’s Symbolic Placement of the Papal Pallium on the Tomb of St Celestine V
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, Pope Benedict subtly signified his thoughts about resignation over three years ago when he removed his papal pallium, and then placed it on the coffin of Saint Celestine V – the only sainted Pope to have resigned the papacy. The pallium is the white woolen garment the Pope wears on his shoulders. It signifies that the Pope carries the sheep of Christ upon his shoulders as the Vicar of the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. The Holy Father also allows the cardinal to wear the pallium as a sign of their communion with Rome.
Looking back, Pope Benedict’s gesture was prophetic. The photos reveal that His Holiness has been wrestling with the idea of abdication for a number of years:
praying before the body of Saint Celestine,
he had left his papal pallium on top of the glass sarcophagus.
It’s the little white fabric folded up just in front of His Holiness’ face:
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