On September 17 Blase Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago will ordain three new Auxiliary Bishops. They and their newly assumed coats of arms are:

Mark Bartosic (57) Titular Bishop of Novatcata

BLAZON: Argent, at center, upon a cross throughout azure, a plate charged with the monogram of the Holy Name, sable; to chief dexter a pear tree and to base sinister a bumble bee, both proper.

Robert Casey (50) Titular Bishop of Thuburbo Maius

BLAZON: Argent and gules; a chevron party per chevron between in chief six stars, in two groups each two and one and in base an escallop all counterchanged.

Ronald Hicks (51) Titular Bishop of Munatiana

BLAZON: Azure, upon a fess wavy argent a sprig of rosemary proper; to chief per saltire a sword upon a quill below a heart gules fimbriated of the second, in base a spring of lily of three blossoms, also of the second.

All three (the work of Deacon Paul Sullivan) show a happy composition, good limited use of colors and make for nice clear designs. The arms of Bishop-elect Hicks is the most “crowded” and the fimbriation around the heart is probably there so that the heart could be depicted as red on a blue field. That’s unfortunate. It’s a “trick” to get around the tincture “rule” (of no color on color) but its a weak design element. It would have been better simply to have the heart be of gold or silver.