By Gretchen Keiser

ROME - The Bond between the Church of Atlanta and the pope was strengthened in Rome June 29 as Pope John Paul II placed on Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, the pallium that symbolizes his new office.

Archbishop Marino, along with 14 archbishops from around the world, received the pallium during an outdoor Mass celebrated on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica by the pope and concelebrated by the Church's 24 new cardinals.

Each archbishop in turn walked up carpeted steps of the basilica and knelt at the feet of the pope while he placed the pallium over the head of the archbishop and embraced him. The pallium is a narrow band of white wool that encircles the neck, marked by six black crosses, with pendants that hang in front and back.

Woven from the wool of two lambs, suggesting Christ, the Lamb of God, and the Good Shepherd, the pallium and its presentation is deeply linked to the first pope, St. Peter, and to his successors in Rome.

The Mass on the steps of St. Peter's, attended by thousands of people, including 90 people from the archdiocese of Atlanta, took place on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul and a holy day in the city of Rome.

On June 28 the pope blessed the pallia and they were placed in an urn inside St. Peter's, directly over the tomb of the martyred first pope.

Given to archbishops who also serve as metropolitans of provinces, the pallium expresses the bond between the pope and the new archbishop, who now shares the pastoral responsibility of the pope in a particular way in his province. Archbishop Marino's province includes the archdiocese of Atlanta and the dioceses of Savannah, Charleston, SC and Raleigh and Charlotte, NC.

St. Peter's Square was festive and bustling with people as Mass preparations began, while the rest of the city, because of the holy day, rested from work. Flower garlands encircled the statues in the square, fountains sprayed water into the air and giant ropes of greenery hung from three balconies on the basilica.

The middle garland was draped around a velvet maroon and cream colored banner bearing the papal crest and from the middle of the garland hung a huge globe of greens, symbolizing the fisherman's net of Peter.

Pope John Paul II walked into the square at the end of a procession that included the archbishops who would receive pallia and the new cardinals who had been given their birettas by the pope the day before and who would now receive their rings.

Delegations from Washington, DC, and Detroit, MI, and from archdioceses in Hong Kong, Mozambique and Canada, among others, were present to honor their new cardinals.

A 60-voice choir from a parish in North Hollywood, CA, St. Charles Borromeo, sang the Mass in Latin, using Ralph Vaughan William's Mass in G Minor. The celebration began at 6 p.m. as the sun was dropping behind the massive facade of St. Peter's Basilica. Flocks of birds swooped across the square, bells chimed, and a cool breeze rustled vestments and banners held aloft in the crowd.

Archbishops in magenta choir robes, followed by cardinals in red, let the procession. The pope, leaning on his crozier, and robed in white came last, to the applause of the crowd. Two rows of people in wheelchairs sat at the front with nurses in white. People cheered from perches atop the columned portico.

The celebration, which lasted two and one half hours, began with the giving of pallia to new archbishops and was followed by the pope's giving rings to the new cardinals. At the end of Mass the pope came down and walked among the people in wheelchairs, blessing them and hugging children.

From an altar at the top of the basilica steps, the pope celebrated Mass for a crowd that extended far back into the square. The new cardinals stood in two rows, one on his right and one on his left as they concelebrated Mass. The new archbishops, including Archbishop Marino, formed a line behind him.

The pope noted the international composition of the group of new cardinals, from 18 countries, and said this is a sign of the ties of local churches to the universal church as the cardinals are the electors of popes.

As the church grows internationally "representatives of a variety of ecclesial communities in the world enter to form a part of this college," the pope said during the homily.

In this way, they express "the universal extension of the papal ministry," he said.

To the archbishops, he said the pallium is the "symbol of the special ties with the bishop of Rome" who is the visible sign "of the unity of faith and communion."

The archbishops were asked to be signs of faith in the local churches they head.

Pope John Paul II "has taken the ceremony (of the pallium) unto himself," Archbishop Marino said in a later interview. The pope, unlike his predecessor, always gives the pallium to Archbishops personally and only on the June 29 feast day of St. Peter.

"This symbol is a sign of our bond with the Holy Father," Archbishop Marino said of the pallium, indicating that as archbishop his bond was a particular one, but that the pallium expressed a bond between the people of the province and the pope also.

Those ties came to life for the 90 members of the Atlanta delegation, primarily lay people, who were from many different parishes. Plunged into the city that contains centuries of Church history and art and basilicas more than 1,000 years old, people from the 32-year-old archdiocese of Atlanta were deeply moved.

The day after the Mass approximately 35 members of the group, with Archbishop Marino, joined in the private papal audience being given by the pope for newly elevated cardinals James Hickey of Washington, D.C., and Edmund Szoka of Detroit and their pilgrims. Able to stand along an aisle, many in the Atlanta group were touched or blessed by the pope individually as he entered for the audience.

Although Atlantans were not the focus of the audience for Detroit and Washington Catholics, Pope John Paul II said in his address that "the presence" of Archbishop Marino, formerly an auxiliary bishop in Washington and now archbishop of Atlanta, "adds a special joy to this meeting."

The day before, in a brief conversation with the pope after the Mass of the pallium, Archbishop Marino told the pope, "Holy Father, the people of Atlanta love you."

Kathy Dirr of All Saints parish, Dunwoody, reflected later on seeing the pope at arm's length during the audience. The thought that struck her was, "This is it. He's the vicar of Christ. It was overwhelming."

Bill and Joan Creamer from St. Anthony's parish in Blue Ridge, who were among five people from their parish, arrived at St. Peter's square in time for a Wednesday morning blessing by the pope from his widow. They were struck by the diversity of languages being spoken in the crowd of thousands. Orrie May Jones of St. Anthony's parish in Atlanta started to cry when the pope touched her and blessed her on his way into the audience hall.

For others, the striking moments took place elsewhere in the city of Rome, particularly in coming to know and speak with their new archbishop.

"He (Archbishop Marino) makes me feel like I am his," said Kay Embry of St. Lawrence parish in Lawrenceville. "And I like being his," her husband, Tim, added.

The archbishop, who stayed at the Rome residence of Cardinal William Baum, dropped in regularly at the hotel where the Atlanta group was staying to see "my pilgrims."

Beth Merdian's concern about being on the tour although she is Lutheran, rather than Catholic, was allayed by unexpectedly meeting the archbishop at the hotel. "I didn't want to do anything that was wrong" during the trip she said. "He was like -- Isn't that wonderful that you came. He made me feel so welcome."

Harold and Karen Carney from Corpus Christi parish in Stone Mountain, came on the trip because they were so excited about the archbishop's message at the Mass of installation on May 5 in Atlanta.

"You know from looking at him that he's excited" about leading the archdiocese, Harold Carney said. For Carney, one of many highlights was the moment when the archbishop emerged from St. Peter's following the Mass of the pallium and saw the Atlanta group waiting in a body for him at the foot of the steps and cheering. He broke into a run in his exuberance to reach the group and talk to them. "His expressions make us know that our trip was worth it to him," Carney said.

"Archbishop Marino has no fences," Karen Carney said. "There's nothing between you and him."

The last day of the trip, the archbishop celebrated Mass for the group at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of four basilicas in Rome and the largest church in the world dedicated to Mary. He chose the church, he said, because the visit to Rome was taking place within the Marian Year.

Four priests who accompanied the group, Father Peter Ludden, chancellor, Father Steve Yander, pastor of St. Anthony's parish in Blue Ridge, Father Michael Hogan, pastor of St. Augustine in Covington, and Father William McKenna, a Josephite colleague of the archbishop's since seminary studies over 25 years ago, concelebrated the Mass with him. Four permanent deacons from the archdiocese, Whitney Robichaux and Lou Hettel, both from Holy Cross parish, Gary Womack from St. John Neumann parish, and Jean Moenk of Blessed Sacrament, Atlanta, also assisted in the celebration of the Mass.

Archbishop Marino placed the pallium on the altar during the Mass as part of the prayer and at the end of the Mass reconsecrated the province of Atlanta to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The first time he will wear the pallium will be at a Mass at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 10, at the Cathedral of Christ the King, which will be a Mass of thanksgiving. Because it expressed his authority within the province, the archbishop is only permitted to wear the pallium when he is celebrating Mass or exercising his office in other ways in the province of Atlanta.

The trip was filled with highlights for individual people, some struck by the visit to the catacombs, others by St. Peter's, or the bond growing between themselves and their new archbishop. A farewell dinner was hosted by the archbishop the last night of the trip.

Rhonwyn Rogers, who heads the archdiocesan Office for Black Catholics, said that it was hard for her to separate the "joy that he is experiencing at the celebration and the joy he sees when he is with us, knowing we're here."

During the week the archbishop at different times talked about the impact on him. "I love Rome. I feel special every time I come," he said at one point. "I got gooseflesh Monday morning when we drove in and I got my first glimpse of St. Peter's."

This time he could celebrate with the Atlantans and also take part in ceremonies marking the elevation of Archbishop Hickey of Washington to cardinal. "I looked over at him as we were concelebrating the Mass together and that was very special," Archbishop Marino said.

Waling out of the audience hall June 30, with people from the Atlanta group trailing along on both sides, the archbishop said that he was coming back from the trip, and a previous bishops' meeting in Minnesota, with excitement and some "new ideas."

"Atlanta is home now," he told the group. "I really feel that way."