"The first native-son Catholic archbishop in New Orleans history knelt before Pope Benedict XVI and received an important symbol of pastoral duty today in Rome, according to a letter released by the Archdiocese.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond received the pallium at St. Peter's Basilica as the Vatican celebrated the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the day of the year when the Roman Catholic Church vests all its newly appointed archbishops with the symbol of their authority."