Archbishop Ricardo Baccay of Tuguegarao on Thursday received his sacred pallium, exactly a year after formally assuming his post.

Archbishop Marlo Peralta of Nueva Segovia conferred the pallium on Baccay in a liturgy at the Saint Peter Metropolitan Cathedral.

With the pandemic, fewer people attended the actual ceremony but presumably attended online by many through live-stream over Facebook.

The woolen band that symbolizes unity with the pope and responsibility to care for the flock was blessed by Pope Francis on the feasts of Sts. Peter and Paul last June 29 in Rome.

Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, Archbishop Baccay was unable to travel to Rome for the papal blessing of the pallium, which was entrusted to Archbishop Peralta for conferral.

While the pope continues to bless palliums and give them to new archbishops as his predecessors did, he decided in 2015 that each archbishop receives it in his archdiocese, in front of the faithful and other bishops.

In his homily, Archbishop Peralta said the imposition of pallium completes the installation of Baccay as metropolitan archbishop of Tuguegarao.

The vestment, he said, implies that an archbishop has to be united with the pope in governing the Church “intended to be imbued with Christ’s mercy and compassion”.

Turning to Baccay, he stressed that to be entrusted with an archdiocese, fairness and justice should play a role.

“You are to promote the common good. fairness and justice should be part of the overall picture in the pastoral governance of your metropolitan archdiocese,” Peralta said.

“While we need to be kind and merciful we also need to practice fairness because this is the only way that we can promote the common good,” he added.

Baccay was appointed archbishop of Tuguegarao by Pope Francis on Oct. 19, 2019. He was installed to the post on Jan. 14, 2020.