The Pallium is a circular band of white wool about two inches wide, with two pendants hanging down front and back. It is ornamented with six dark crosses of silk, and is worn over the liturgical vestments.

The pallium is made (at least partially) from the wool of lambs - suggesting Christ, the Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd - presented each year to the Pope on the feast of St. Agnes.

Church law requires a metropolitan to request the pallium from the Pope, either personally or by proxy, within three months of episcopal ordination or transfer. The pallium is worn only within the Archbishop's ecclesiastical province.