Monday, January 21, 2008

Feast of St. Agnes in Rome...


One can see how one lamb is adorned with white flowers (S.A.V.) while the other is adorned with red flowers (S.A.M.).
This is for the virginity (white) as well as for the martyrdom (red) of St. Agnes.
Later in the day the lambs were brought to the Holy Father and then back to their home in Rome's Trastevere neighborhood.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a confusing picture. Are the lambs tied down? What are they tied to?

John Paul Sonnen said...

The most sacred of all vestments is the pallium of the metropolitan/archbishops.

The wool taken from these two lambs will be used to make this vestment for the coming Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul when they are conferred upon the world's new metropolitans every June 29.

The baby lambs are tied down in baskets with linen ribbons so that they can't move (they are resigned in this manner and only try to eat the plastic flowers within reach).

Two new lambs are blessed at the Solemn Mass at the tomb of St. Agnes Outside the Walls in Rome every year on January 21.

Later that day they are brought to the Holy Father for him to see, bless and then a photo op.