Bishop Saporito, Sixth Bishop of Metuchen

Tomorrow, October 22, the feast of St. John Paul II, the Most Rev. Michael A. Saporito (64), a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark and, since 2020, Titular Bishop of Luperciana and Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, will take canonical possession of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey–a neighboring diocese–and take up his ministry as its sixth Bishop since 1981 when the diocese was erected by St. John Paul II separating the four northernmost counties from the Diocese of Trenton.

It was my privilege six years ago to design and execute the coat of arms of Bishop Saporito when he was first made a bishop. I was also very happy that he asked me once again to assist him in the project of marshaling his personal arms to those of the See of Metuchen, especially as now he becomes my own bishop in the diocese in which I serve as a priest. I did make one very tiny modification to his original arms (see below) in that with the narrower space of only one side of the shield to work with I found it was better to place the two books side by side and the sword below them. Previously, the books had flanked the sword. My concern was for the fact that since most episcopal coats of arms (at least in the U.S.) are seen primarily in greatly reduced formats–as on letterhead, or notecards, or on websites and social media–that squeezing the two books to fit them on either side of the sword would render them difficult to distinguish when the coat of arms was reduced in size. I wanted them to remain clearly discernible as books rather than two blobs of color either side of the sword. Archbishop Heim, in his now famous book, writes about how the heraldic designer and/or the heraldic artist (because those two are NOT the same thing) have the task of how best to arrange and depict a coat of arms. This is especially true in the case of marshaling two, or more, coats of arms together on the same shield. Ecclesiastical heraldry is not bounded by the sometimes complex rules of marshaling that one would find in English, or Scottish heraldry, for example. It’s more than simply a matter of taking existing arms and squeezing them into a smaller area on the shield. On occasion, a bit more creativity may be called for.

The Bishop approved this slight change which has more to do with the artistic rendering (emblazonment) of the arms rather than the actual design (blazon) of the arms. In fairness, however, I point out that the blazon was, in fact, changed to reflect this modification.

BLAZON: Arms impaled. In the dexter: Quarterly Or and Argent; a cross moline throughout Azure; in dexter chief a flame gules; in sinister base a crown Argent over a letter “M” Azure. (See of Metuchen) In the sinister: Gules, a flaming sword palewise, point in chief, the blade Argent, enflamed Or, the hilt and pommel Or with a pommel stone Azure, below, in chief to dexter and sinister, two open books Argent, bound Or. (Saporito) Shield ensigned with an episcopal cross Or behind the shield and a bishop’s galero Vert cords and twelve tassels disposed in three rows of one, two and three all Vert. On a scroll below the shield the motto: “Feed My Sheep”.

EXPLANATION: The coat of arms of the Diocese of Metuchen is based on both the arms of the Diocese of Trenton, from which it was separated as well as those of St. John Paul II who erected the diocese on November 19,1981.

The shield is divided into four quadrants representing the four counties of Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren that comprise the diocesan territory. The gold (yellow) and silver (white) colors are those used on the flag of the Vatican City State.

The cross moline is taken from the arms of the Diocese of Trenton. This shape of the cross is often associated with the Order of St. Benedict in heraldry. Its blue color here is the reverse of the Trenton arms (which depict a gold cross on a blue field). In the upper left of the shield there is a red tongue of fire. The word “Metuchen” is derived from the Lenne Lenape Indian word “metachen”, which means, “firewood”. In addition this symbol is associated with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles at Pentecost.

In the lower right we see a blue letter “M” surmounted by a silver crown. This is the monogram for Mary, Our Queen. The diocese is under the patronage of the Queenship of Mary. The “M” also appeared in the arms of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II.

For his personal arms Bishop Saporito chose symbols reflecting his priestly life and ministry when he assumed a coat of arms upon becoming a bishop in 2020. The red background is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Newark where the upper third of that shield (called a chief) is colored red. The bishop’s whole life, priesthood and, episcopate up until now had been spent in the service of that Archdiocese.

The central symbol, or charge, is the flaming sword that is used as a symbol of his baptismal patron, St. Michael the Archangel. Michael, reckoned as the commander of the heavenly hosts wields the sword that symbolizes righteousness and God’s justice.

The sword, with a silver blade surrounded by golden flames and gold handle has two open books side by side just above it. The pages of the books are blank and silver (white) while the books are bound in gold (yellow). These symbolize the Sacred Scriptures in both Testaments and are a reminder of the need for and the work of evangelization in the Church. The Bishop has devoted a part of his priestly ministry to the New Evangelization.

The motto below the shield is “Feed My Sheep” (John 21:17)

The shield is also ensigned with those external ornaments that indicate the bearer is a bishop. The gold (yellow) episcopal cross, not to be confused with a processional cross, is placed vertically behind and extending above and below the shield. In former times archbishops, and later all bishops, had a cross mounted on a staff carried immediately in front of them while in procession or on solemn occasions. This cross was a symbol of their rank as bishop. While such an episcopal cross is no longer used practically it has been retained heraldically. In fact, there are other clerics who make use of the ecclesiastical hat with its many tassels but the one true heraldic emblem of a bishop, and the only essential one, is the episcopal cross placed behind the shield. In Catholic liturgical practice a processional cross is usually a crucifix, with the corpus of Christ upon it. An episcopal cross never contains a corpus.

Above the shield is the ecclesiastical hat, called a galero which, in heraldry, replaces the martial helmet, mantling and crest. “The hat with six pendant tassels (green, purple or black) on each side is universally considered in heraldry as the sign of prelacy. It, therefore, pertains to all who are actually prelates.” (Heim, Bruno B., Heraldry in the Catholic Church 1978, page 114) The galero is green with green cords pendant from it and twelve green tassels arranged in a pyramid shape on either side of the shield. At one time in history bishops and archbishops wore green before adopting the more Roman purple we see today. In heraldry the green hat and tassels was retained for prelates with the rank of bishop according to the Instruction of the Secretariat of State, “Ut Sive” of March, 1969.

This was, for obvious reasons, a project on which I was very happy and proud to work. Of the six Bishops of Metuchen I have served as a priest under four of them. Of those four this is the third coat of arms I have had the privilege of designing and emblazoning in addition to working on the current emblazonment of the diocesan coat of arms. All of us in the Diocese wish Bishop Saporito: AD MULTOS ANNOS!

Cardinal O’Malley, Archbishop-Emeritus of Boston

A few years ago I was pleased to prepare the coat of arms for my friend and high school classmate, Archbishop Henning of Boston. At that time I was told his predecessor, Sean Cardinal O’Malley, OFM, Cap. would probably modify his arms to remove the impalement with the See of Boston but that there “was no hurry on that”, which is true enough.

Well, the time finally rolled around that His Eminence wanted to take care of that detail and I was commissioned to do the task.

His Eminence wanted to make no changes at all to the arms he first assumed in 1984 when he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. He used these same arms during his time as Bishop of Fall River, Massachusetts, and as Bishop of Palm Beach, Florida as well as during his tenure as Metropolitan Archbishop of Boston.

The field of these arms is red and displays a three masted sailing ship, at full sail, all in gold (yellow). This charge is taken from the portion of the arms associated with the name O’Malley that is known as the crest (i.e. the upper-most portion, usually above a helmet). This ship is placed amid three silver (white) stars that are taken from the arms of General George Washington, whose arms are used as the device of our federal capital city, where His Eminence was serving as a priest when he was selected to receive the fullness of Christ’s most holy priesthood as a bishop. The upper portion of Cardinal O’Malley’s personal arms are the arms of the Order of Saint Francis, (O.F.M. – the Order of Friars Minor – a loose translation of tile Latin for the Order of Little Brothers) signifying that Cardinal O’Malley is a Capuchin Franciscan. These arms show on a black cross, the crossed arms of Christ and Saint Francis, each bearing the Stigmata.

The big change was “un-impaling” or “un-marshaling” his personal arms with those of the See of Boston now that he is the Archbishop-Emeritus. Of course he retains the archiepiscopal cross in his achievement as well as the scarlet galero of a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church. Perhaps the biggest difference comes with the cross placed behind the shield. Until now the Cardinal has displayed two chivalric crosses behind his shield. One was the red and silver “Cruz de Cristo” to signify that Cardinal O’Malley was named a Knight Commander of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1974 by the Portuguese government for outstanding service to the Portuguese people. The other was a white Maltese Cross. The inclusion of this cross signifies that Cardinal O’Malley was named as a Chaplain “Ad Honorum” of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta in 1991. This Order is more commonly known as the Knights of Malta. In this present emblazonment only the cross of the Order of Malta is being displayed.

When I was commissioned to do this work I pointed out to His Eminence, with respect, that it wasn’t really correct to display two different crosses of chivalric orders in this fashion. In addition, I prepared a treatment for him in which I traced the various regulations concerning the arms of Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops issued by different Popes throughout the centuries. I cited the Apostolic Constitution “Militans Ecclesiae Regimini” of Pope Innocent X from Dec. 19, 1644; the Motu Proprio  “Inter Multiplices Curas” of St. Pius X from February 21, 1905; in particular the Decree of the Consistorial Congregation “Apostolica Constitutione” approved by Pope Benedict XV from January 15, 1915; the Decree of the Consistorial Congregation, “Attentis Disponitionibus” approved by Pope Pius XII from May 12, 1951 (which reaffirmed the decrees of Innocent X & Benedict XV) and the Instruction “Ut Sive Solicite” from the Secretariat of State under St. Paul VI from March 31, 1969, as well as others.

It was the decree of Innocent X in 1644 that established that the armorial bearings of Cardinals should not contain any secular honors in the form of coronets indicating noble rank, or decorations from Orders of chivalry. According to this decree, never revoked, the armiger and even the artist depicting the coat of arms were excommunicated latae sententiae for including secular marks of honor in a coat of arms. Without revoking Innocent X’s entire document that excommunication was eventually revoked by Pope Pius IX in his Constitution, “Apostolicae Sedis” in 1869 which was also upheld and affirmed by Benedict XV in 1915. This set an early precedent which was later affirmed by other Popes. In particular, the decree approved by Benedict XV in 1915 says,

“Omnes S.R.E. Cardinales ad unitatem et aequalitatem ordinjs construendam, iubeant e propiis sigillis et insignibus quibuscumque, vulgo armis nuncupatis, amoveri coronas, signa ac omnes notas seculares, praeter eas quibus intra scutum armorum eorum familiae tamquam de essentia et integritate eorumdem armorum utuntur, et ut in posterum ab illorum usu abstineant. …aut nisi agatur de Ordine equestri S. Ioannes Hierosolymitani aut S. Sepulchri.”

“All Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, in order to establish unity and equality within the Order, let them be required to remove crowns, emblems, and all secular insignia—commonly known as coats of arms—from their personal seals and devices of any kind (except for those elements used within the shield of their family arms as integral and essential parts thereof), and to refrain from using them in the future… unless the matter concerns the Equestrian Order of St. John of Jerusalem or the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.”

Archbishop Bruno Heim in his seminal work, Heraldry in the Catholic Church (Van Duren Press, 1978) says clearly that,

“Cardinals are forbidden to add crowns, mantles, supporters, decorations or any other honorific signs to their achievements, with the exception of the crosses of the Order of Malta and of the Holy Sepulchre.” (page 102).

After considering my suggestion, His Eminence elected to display just the cross of the Order of Malta in his achievement going forward. It was very gratifying to see His Eminence take my recommendation seriously. This, I must add, also proves a point that I have been making for quite a few years over and over in the pages of this blog. Namely, that heraldry isn’t just about drawing pretty pictures. One needs also to do the work, to do the research, to know what one is talking about especially with the scant and often sketchy regulations the Church has regarding ecclesiastical heraldry.

This was a very fun and interesting project on which to work. I have now had the opportunity to do this same thing for Cardinal Dolan as well as for Cardinal O’Malley. Perhaps there is a new area of expertise for me to develop: UN-impaling the coats of arms of bishops emeriti!

Abbot John Caronan, O.Praem.

On June 19 St. Michaelʼs Abbey in Orange County, California, has elected Father John Caronan, O. Praem. (62) a native of the Philippines as its third abbot since its founding in 1961, succeeding Abbot Eugene Hayes, who led the community for 31 years. His abbatial blessing took place on September 28.

The arms he assumed which make references to his Filipino heritage (the sun, borrowed from the flag and coat of arms of the Philippines) and to his name (the lamb of God symbolizing St. John the Baptist) were executed by the Italian artist, Marco Foppoli. Abbot John employs the white galero often used by Norbertine Abbots as a reflection of the white habit they wear as Norbertine (Praemonstratensian ) Canons. Frequently, Cistercian Abbots, who also wear a white habit, do this too.

I have stated publicly more than once that I’m not a fan of this custom. The galero does not necessarily reflect what a prelate wears. The colors assigned to the galeri indicate a rank, not a habit. For example, bishops wear purple but the galero in their coats of arms is green. Nevertheless, the use of the white galero by Norbertine and Cistercian Abbots is an ancient one that developed over a long period of time. So, I have to respect that. I will state, however, that any Abbot would be free to make use of a galero and tassels that is black…the color normally assigned to the galero of an Abbot…ANY Abbot. Norbertine and Cistercian Abbots aren’t required to use the white galero. It is their choice to do so.

Another version of the coat of arms was also commissioned by Anatole Upart. (below)

In the interests of FULL DISCLOSURE I should say that I was originally commissioned by Abbot John to design and execute his coat of arms. However, owing to a mix up in which several other members of the Community of Canons wanted to surprise the Abbot, they took it upon themselves to contact another artist–I’m not sure which–and the Abbot felt himself to be in an awkward position. Not exactly the greatest way to begin an tenure as Abbot…or for his confreres to treat him, by putting him in such a position. Abbot John asked if I wouldn’t mind standing down since the other Canons had proceeded without his knowledge and were farther along in their discussions. As I had not begun in earnest but had only just accepted the commission and had only an early conversation about the design in the most general terms, I relinquished the commission to turn my attention to several of the other commissions I was working on at the time. That’s how I cam to know so much about what Abbot John wished to symbolize in his coat of arms…because he told me so himself.

Bishop Saporito of…Metuchen, Now!

On September 15, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV appointed the Most Rev. Michael A. Saporito (64), a priest and, since 2020, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, NJ to be the Bishop of Metuchen, NJ. This appointment come just around one year after the transfer of the Most Rev. James Checchio to be the Archbishop of New Orleans.

Bishop Saporito, a New Jersey native, will be formally installed as the 6th Bishop of Metuchen on October 22, 2026, the feast of St. John Paul II, who erected the Diocese of Metuchen in 1981 separating the four northern counties of the Diocese of Trenton to create the new diocese.

Bishop Saporito’s armorial bearings were assumed in 2020 when he was named Titular Bishop of Luperciana and Auxiliary of Newark. It was my privilege and pleasure to assist him with the design of his coat of arms. They will now be impaled with those of the See of Metuchen. I look forward now to working with him in future as he becomes my new “boss”.

Ad Multos Annos!

Royal Transition in Norway: Kongen er død: Lenge leve kongen!

On August 28, 2026 HM King Harald V of Norway (89), who reigned from 1991, passed into eternal life. He was immediately succeeded by his son and heir, Crown Prince Haakon, who now reigns as King Haakon VIII.

Sincere condolences to HM the King and his family, especially his mother, Queen Sonja. King Harald will be buried on September 9. On September 1, 2026 King Haakon swore his oath of allegiance to the Constitution before the Storting, (the Norwegian Parliament) officially becoming king. There will not be a coronation but there will be a ceremony of consecration at St. Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim at which the royal crown will be present as a symbol. That ceremony will take place at some later date. For King Harald, the benediction took place five months after he succeeded his father. In the case of King Olav V the benediction took place some nine months after his accession.

The royal coat of arms, designed in this form in 1905, is used by the royal family. Derived from the medieval arms of the Sverre dynasty, it is the arms of dominion of the Norwegian king. The national coat of arms has a slightly different style and was adopted in 1937. However, the king retains the use of the older style. In the coat of arms of the realm, a heraldic royal crown is placed directly on top of the shield. In the royal coat of arms, the shield of the arms of the realm is on a purple mantle lined with ermine with a royal crown on top. Three sides of the shield are surrounded by the collar of the Royal Order of St. Olav. The blazon is: Gules, a lion rampant Or, crowned Or, holding an axe Or with a blade argent.

Lenge leve kongen! Long live the king!