The motto chosen for the Coat of Arms is Si Scires Donum Dei (“If you knew the gift of God” – John 4:10). A woman of Samaria was sitting by the well when Jesus asked her for a drink of water … “Jesus answered her, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10

The white animal is an ermine “passant argent gorged or and lampassed gules” as represented in the Coat of Arms of Saint-Malo, the Archbishop’s home town. The legend says that the ermine would rather die than to have her white fur stained.

The rock represents the granite rocks of Brittany. It is strong enough to resist the constant assaults of the sea. It is therefore a symbol of solidity. The surname of the Archbishop, “Pierre”, is the French translation of rock or stone. The Archbishop has also received the mission to represent the Successor of the first Pope, named by Jesus as Cephas (rock or stone).

The river crossing the shield represents the water the woman of Samaria was looking at (the well of Jacob) when Jesus offered to give her living water. It represents also the river which St. Christopher (“Christ-bearer”) was helping people to cross over. Once, a child on his shoulders became suddenly heavy and was revealed to him as being Jesus himself.

The Coat of Arms was designed by Xavier Pierre, a younger brother of the Archbishop. He passed away in 1999.