BRAINTREE -- Archbishop Richard Henning received his pallium from Pope Leo XIV at St. Peter's Basilica on June 29, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

"Today's Mass for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul and the blessing and imposition of the Pallium Stole expresses the unity of the Church in the successor of Peter," Archbishop Henning said in a statement to the media. "By the gift of this stole placed within the tomb of Peter, Pope Leo links my ministry in Boston to his own and to the Catholic Church across the world."

The pallium, a woolen band worn over the shoulders, has been a symbol of an archbishop's ministry since the early centuries of the church. In 1983, Pope St. John Paul II instituted the tradition of calling the new archbishops to Rome to personally bestow the palliums, blessed by the pope, upon the archbishops. Pope Francis changed this tradition so that the blessed palliums were brought to the archbishops by the apostolic nuncios of their respective countries, but Pope Leo XIV revived the previous tradition shortly after his election.

Archbishop Henning joined 54 archbishops from over two dozen countries in receiving his pallium, including seven from the U.S.: Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington; Archbishop Shawn McKnight of Kansas City, Kansas; Archbishop Robert Casey of Cincinnati; Archbishop Joe Vasquez of Galveston-Houston; Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee; and Archbishop Edward Weisenburger of Detroit. The archbishops knelt to receive the blessed palliums and embraced the pope.

In his homily at Mass, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the two saints celebrated that day. Like Sts. Peter and Paul, he said, there is communion in shared faith between the pope and his archbishops.

"Communion in the Lord ever makes us more, not less -- as individuals and as a community," Archbishop Henning said. "The imagery of the stole also reminds me to imitate the Good Shepherd in caring for the flock and seeking out the lost sheep. I will return from Rome renewed and determined to live up to that charge in serving the church of Boston. The Catholics of the Archdiocese of Boston are in my heart and in my prayers."