On July 14, the feast of St. Katherine Tekakwitha, the Most Rev. Ramon Bejarano (50), a priest of the Diocese of Stockton, California will be ordained the Titular Bishop of Carpi and the Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego, California.

The coat of arms he is assuming is the following:

The personal coat of arms combines symbols that are meaningful to him reflecting his spiritual life and priestly ministry. The main part of the shield shows a gold background on which are four wavy vertical lines. These represent flowing waters. This alludes to his chosen motto and also symbolizes the graces that come from the Divine life to quench our thirst for God.

The upper third of the shield, called a “chief” is red because it is borrowed for the coat of arms of the Order of Mercy, the Mercedarians, of which the bishop’s patron saint, Raymond Nonnatus, was a member. The central symbol resembles a monstrance because St. Raymond is often depicted artistically holding a monstrance. Furthermore, the Eucharist is, for Bishop Bejarano, the inspiration for his priestly vocation. It was through the Eucharist that he received his call to the priesthood at age seven and which keeps his faith and his ministry going. It represents the call to offer oneself as a living sacrifice.

The monstrance is flanked on either side by an image of the Sacred Heart alluding to the mercy of God and echoing the idea of a sacrificial offering of oneself united to the sacrifice of Christ and of a rose for Our Lady. In particular, it is an allusion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas. This is for the bishop’s Hispanic heritage.In connection with the appearance of Our Lady to Juan Diego the miraculous blooming of roses in December occurred.

The motto below the shield is, “My Soul Is Thirsting For You” from Psalm 63. He chose this because he sees it as also connected with St. Augustine’s phrase about our restless heart. (“Our hearts are restless, O God, until they rest in Thee”) The human heart seeks God, and Bishop Bejarano sees the need for evangelization for so many thirsting souls.

The shield is also ensigned with those external ornaments that indicate the bearer is a bishop. The gold (yellow) cross is placed vertically behind and extending above and below the shield. This is often mistakenly thought to be a processional cross like those used in liturgical processions. 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.

Above the shield is the ecclesiastical hat, called a galero which, in heraldry, replaces the martial helmet, mantling and crest. 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.

It was my privilege and pleasure to design and execute Bishop Bejarano’s coat of arms.