Auxiliaries of Boston

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On August 24, 2016 two new Auxiliary Bishops to the Archbishop of Boston will be ordained. Their coat of arms are below for

The Most Rev. Robert Reed, Titular Bishop of Sufaritanus

reed

The Most Rev. Mark O’Connell, Titular Bishop of Gigthensis

o'connell

Hmmmm…interesting. Pretty. Busy. Good?

The designs, accompanied by very interesting descriptions, especially for lovers of fiction, are by J.C. Noonan and the artwork is by his usual collaborator Linda Nicholson.

4 thoughts on “Auxiliaries of Boston”

J. Martin August 24, 2016 at 4:03 PM

While reading the descriptions my reaction was, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Thus, your allusion to “fiction.” The word “quack” also comes to mind, but maybe that is a little harsh?

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Philippe Pille August 26, 2016 at 11:30 AM

CoA Reed vs O’Connell.
Many American catholic prelates tend in my opinion to overuse (symbolic) heraldic charges in their personal coat of arms (CoA), which often leads to a busy and incoherent mishmash. Moreover, partitioning the shield (per fess, pale, bend, cross, altire, etc.) has become a widespread practice in American ecclesiastical heraldry. It really gets confusing and muddled when the arms of e.g. a diocesan bishop are on top of that marshalled with those of the diocese. One of the basic rules of heraldry is still simplicity, clarity and recognizability. For that reason I like much more the CoA of bishop Reed than that of his colleague O’Connell.

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1. Hans van Heijningen September 12, 2016 at 3:18 AM
  
  I agree. Where are the golden days of the heraldists Pierre Chaignon la Rose (1873-1941) and William Ryan? Chaignon is the one who introduced the (more-English) marshalling-per-pale for the USA and made several beautiful combinations. After him Ryan continued this.
  The manco today is always in the sinister halves of the shields.
  
  But I like the shield of the new auxiliarian Reed with the roses and the bend bevilled very much.
  And it is easy to marshall if Reed becomes a residing bishop somewhere.
  
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Z. Walkman November 4, 2016 at 4:13 AM

I don’t see a problem with Noonan’s descriptions. They’re a little flowery and verbose, but otherwise fine. He admits that it’s a “very busy design”, but ultimately it’s the bishop’s arms. http://ordination2016.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Bishop-Mark-OConnell.pdf

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