The coat of arms of the new Archbishop of Bologna, the Most Rev. Matteo Zuppi.

The shield depicts the Book of the Gospels, a river and the cross of Constantine. The book is open to John 4:34-35.  Jesus at Jacob’s well with the Samaritan woman said , “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say perhaps four more months and then the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” The river evokes the Tiber and Rome. The sign of water and the river runs through the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. The Cross with Alpha and Omega is a sign evoking Christ crucified and risen, the beginning and end of all things. This cross is above the triumphal arch of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome where Archbishop Zuppi has lived for most of his priestly ministry.

The scroll below shows the motto chosen by Archbishop Zuppi “Gaudium Domini Fortitudo Vestra.” The joy of the Lord is your strength. (Neh 8:10)

The pallium is both unnecessary and very ill-placed.