by Moira Cullings
moira.cullings@theleaven.org
VATICAN CITY — When Archbishop Shawn McKnight had the opportunity to speak with Pope Leo XIV during his time here, he decided to ask something near and dear to the hearts of his flock in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.
The moment came unexpectedly after the June 29 Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, where Archbishop McKnight and 53 other metropolitan archbishops had just received their palliums.
“At the end of the procession in front of the Pietà, we had a group photo with the Holy Father,” said Archbishop McKnight, “and then he greeted each one of us individually as we departed.
“It was at that moment that I asked him about whether or not he liked American barbecue, and he said, ‘I sure do!’
“I pledged to him that I would send him some good Kansas City barbecue sauce. So, I’ll have to follow up on that and keep my pledge.”
The Mass, celebrated on the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, was special for Archbishop McKnight, who was installed as archbishop on May 27.
He described it as “a very fraternal experience of the universality of the church.”
“We were placed in order of our installation dates,” he said. “The archbishop of Liverpool and I were installed on the very same day, so we were right next to one another.”
It was also exciting to process into Mass and concelebrate it with the pope, he said, something he’d never done before.
As Archbishop McKnight ascended the stairs during the rite of imposition of the pallium, he was struck by the basilica’s image of Our Lady of Montserrat.
“I pray the rosary every day and have a Marian devotion,” he said, “so I was spontaneously moved to offer a prayer for me and for all of the people I’m responsible for here in the archdiocese, as well as throughout Kansas.”
And the moment Pope Leo XIV placed the pallium over his shoulders was particularly special.
“It was quite exceptional to, for the first time, get to meet the Holy Father, Pope Leo, when he greeted me formally after the imposition of the pallium,” he said, “where we exchanged the sign of peace.
“After the ritual of exchange of peace, he said to me, ‘Peace be with you’ in Latin, and I said to him in Latin, ‘And with your spirit.’
“And then I said, ‘Holy Father, the clergy and faithful of the Archdiocese of Kansas City love you.’”
What is a pallium?
The pallium is a woolen band worn over the shoulders of a metropolitan archbishop when he celebrates Mass within his province.
For Archbishop McKnight, that means anywhere in the state of Kansas.
“The pallium is the symbol of the bond between the pope and the local metropolitan archbishop,” explained Archbishop McKnight, “which also symbolizes the relationship between the local church and the church of Rome.”
It also represents an archbishop carrying sheep around his shoulders.
“There’s a connection of being selfless and sacrificial as Our Lord was, who laid down his life for his sheep,” said Archbishop McKnight.
“I only learned this in Rome,” he added, “that the black end of each one is supposed to resemble the hooves of a sheep.”
The pallium has six black crosses on it, three of which have a pin — called a spinula — to represent the nails that were used to crucify Jesus.
Archbishop McKnight’s pallium is particularly special because the wool from which the pallium was made was blessed by Pope Francis on the feast of St. Agnes, he added, and the completed pallium was blessed by Pope Leo XIV.
It will serve as a reminder of the great responsibility he now has as an archbishop.
“It’s an incredible burden of responsibility — the salvation of souls,” said Archbishop McKnight.
And it’s an additional one to also be responsible for the priests and deacons who are ministering to people.
“It’s impossible,” he said, “except for the grace and the assurances Our Lord gave to us that he would always be with us.”
Additional reporting by John Sorce.
