7 Asian archbishops receive pallium from Pope Leo XIV

Seven prelates from Asia have personally received the pallium from Pope Leo XIV, the insignia of the office of a metropolitan archbishop.

Out of the 54 newly appointed archbishops, three are from India and one each from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

They attended the Holy Mass with the blessing and imposition of the pallium at the Vatican on June 29.

From India are Bombay Archbishop John Rodrigues, Visakapatnam Archbishop Udumala Bala Showreddy, and Calicut Archbishop Varghese Chakkalakal.

Rodrigues has been serving as the coadjutor archbishop of Bombay until his appointment as archbishop of the same diocese on January 25, 2025.

Showreddy was the bishop of the Diocese of Warangal prior to his appointment as archbishop of Visakhapatnam on February 8, 2025.

On April 12, 2025, Chakkalakal became the first archbishop of the newly established Diocese of Calicut in India.

From Vietnam is Hue Archbishop Joseph Dang Duc Ngan. He succeeded Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Chí Linh after the pope’s acceptance of the latter's resignation on May 24, 2025.

Following his retirement, Makassar Archbishop Fransiskus Nipa, from Indonesia, succeeded Archbishop Johannes Liku Ada on October 17, 2024.

From Thailand comes Bangkok Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana. He was serving as the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator prior to his appointment as archbishop on January 11, 2025.

From the Philippines is Jaro Archbishop Midyphil Bermejo Billones, who was appointed on February 2, 2025, after the resignation of his predecessor, Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo.

The practice of the imposition of the pallium by the pope was begun by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1983, which is traditionally held during the Solemnities of Saints Peter and Paul every June 29.

This gesture symbolizes the archbishop’s unity with the Holy Father and the archbishop’s mission to become a responsible shepherd to the flock of faithful entrusted to him.

In 2015, Pope Francis changed the ceremony so that the new archbishops only concelebrate Mass with him during the blessing of the palliums. However, the nuncios in their respective home archdioceses conducted the actual rite of imposition.

This year, Pope Leo XIV revived the practice of personally placing the pallium on the shoulders of the new archbishops.

As with past ceremonies of this kind, a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, led by Orthodox Metropolitan Emmanuel Adamakis of Chalcedon, attended the Mass.

Also present were members of the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.