Archbishop Billones to be honored by Pope Leo XIV with special vestment

Archbishop Midyphil Billones of Jaro will receive the pallium from Pope Leo XIV during a Mass for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul at St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, June 29.

The pallium — a narrow band of white wool worn over the shoulders — is a liturgical vestment symbolizing an archbishop’s communion with the pope and his role as a shepherd of the local Church.

In a return to tradition, Pope Leo will personally confer the pallium during the liturgy, reviving a long-standing custom that underscores the visible bond between the pope and metropolitan archbishops worldwide.

The ceremony marks a shift from the practice introduced by Pope Francis in 2015, under which new archbishops concelebrated Mass with the pontiff in Rome, where the palliums were blessed but not imposed.

The actual investiture was later held in each archbishop’s local archdiocese, typically led by the apostolic nuncio in the presence of the faithful and neighboring bishops.

Pope Francis appointed Billones, 55, as archbishop of Jaro on Feb. 2, 2025, following the retirement of Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo.

Ordained a priest for the Jaro archdiocese in 1995, Billones was named auxiliary bishop of Cebu in 2019. He was installed as the 14th archbishop of Jaro on April 2, 2025.

Billones will be among 48 new archbishops from across the globe to receive the pallium from Pope Leo, who will preside over the ceremony for the first time as pontiff.

According to the source: Interaksyon.