JULY 8, 2025 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
SHEPHERD’S MESSAGE
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TCH KIDS!
Archbishop Vásquez reflects on Pallium Mass and the Jubilee Year ▪ SEE PAGE 2
A back page full of spiritual activities for kids of all ages ▪ SEE PAGE 20
Proclaiming the Good News to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston since 1964
JULY 8, 2025
VATICAN
Pope: Archbishops must promote unity, seek new ways to share the Gospel
VOL. 62, NO. 4
A SIGN OF UNITY
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Archbishops around the world can provide by their example the fraternity and unity in diversity the entire Catholic Church needs today, Pope Leo XIV said. “The whole Church needs fraternity, which must be present in all of our relationships, whether between lay people and priests, priests and bishops, bishops and the pope,” he said during his homily at Mass on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29. According to the Vatican, 54 archbishops from more than two dozen countries who were named over the past 12 months received the palliums. Eight of them were from the U.S., including Galveston-Houston’s own Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez. The feast day celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica included the traditional blessing of the pallium, the woolen collar that the heads of archdioceses wear around their shoulders over their Mass vestments and symbolizes an See ARCHBISHOPS, page 5 PHOTO BY LOLA GOMEZ/CNS
Pope Leo XIV presents the pallium to Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez during Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. The pallium symbolizes the archbishop’s authority and unity with the pope. Below, the statue of St. Peter is adorned with papal vestments for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Abp. Vásquez receives pallium from Pope Leo VOCATIONS
Newly ordained priests begin parochial ministries SEE PAGE 7
WITHIN THE ARTS
At St. Peter’s, newly restored statues witness Pallium Mass SEE PAGE 17
For Archbishop Vásquez, experience reflects the call to foster unity in Church and world VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Pope Leo XIV gave newly appointed metropolitan archbishops their pallium on the June 29 feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, he told them it symbolizes their responsibility to care for their people and to promote unity. Kneeling before the Holy Father at the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica, Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez was among the 54 archbishops from around the world who received a pallium, a circular woolen band worn around the shoulders over Mass vestments that marks their position as a metropolitan archbishop. Appointed Archbishop of GalvestonHouston in January 2025, Archbishop Vásquez joined Archbishop Joseph A.
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Fiorenza and Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, who each also received their palliums in 2005 and 2006, respectively, after the diocese was named an Archdiocese in 2004. In his homily, Pope Leo told Archbishop Vásquez, who was joined by seven other U.S. archbishops at the Mass, “Dear brothers, this sign of the pastoral responsibility entrusted to you also expresses your communion with the Bishop of Rome, so that in the unity of the Catholic faith, each of you may build up that communion in your local churches,” he said in his homily during Mass. He urged them to“learn to experience
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See PALLIUM, page 4
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