Monthly Archives: May 2022

Bishop Emil Wcela RIP

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The Most Rev. Emil Wcela (pronounced “Sella”), Titular Bishop of Filaca and Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre, NY since 1988 passed away on May 21 at age 91. Bishop Wcela was born on Long Island and was, in fact, the first native of what is now the Diocese of Rockville Centre to be named a bishop. Born May 1, 1931 in Bohemia, NY (somewhat fittingly as he was of Czech origin) he was ordained in 1956 for the Diocese of Brooklyn for the simple reason that the Diocese of Rockville Centre didn’t yet exist! In that year all of Long Island was still the Diocese of Brooklyn. In 1957 Pope Pius XII separated the two easternmost counties of Long Island from Brooklyn and erected the Diocese of Rockville Centre and Wcela was immediately incarnated into the new diocese.

I had the privilege of knowing Bishop Wcela. We met in 1993 when we were students together at the Language Institute that was then run by the Diocese of Brooklyn for those in ministry. We were both in Spanish class together.

Reluctant to become a bishop (he refused the first time it was offered to him) the arms that he assumed were reflective of things meaningful to him. I know from talking with him that he pretty much was told simply to sketch out on paper what he wanted and then the late Deacon Paul Sullivan “cleaned it up” a bit, painted it and wrote up a blazon. Considering the bishop was no expert in heraldry he didn’t do half badly! It is a bit crowded and it is definitely a “CV coat of arms”. Nevertheless, there is some logic to it and even a clever image thrown in as well.

The field is composed of the tripartite Czech flag which is red, white and blue. The book and crescent in chief evoke his many years serving as a Scripture professor and also Rector at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, NY. The carpenter’s square and lily to dexter evoke St. Joseph whom the bishop looked to as a special patron and intercessor. To the sinister the blue wavy lines on the silver (white) field evoke the sea and the torteau in the center of it resembles an island. This is to signify his being the first native Long Islander raised to the episcopate. The bee on the torteau is for his surname, Wcela which is a variation of the Czech word “vcela” which means honeybee.

The motto, Grace and Peace, is a typical greeting used by St. Paul. Grace is the sum total of the gifts bestowed on humanity by God culminating in the gift of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Peace designates wholeness and the rightness of all relationships. God’s grace results in peace so the Church is the instrument of God’s Grace & Peace.

Bishop Wcela was a kind man; a good priest; a gentle shepherd. May he Rest in Peace.

Bishop Fabre-Jeune of Charleston

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On May 13, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, the Most Rev. Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS (66), a priest of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo will be ordained a bishop and installed as the 15th Bishop of Charleston, South Carolina.

FABRE 11A sq shield parted per fess

“The upper portion contains a Royal Palm Tree in gold with a Phrygian cap in gold and silver. The palm tree was the first and most important emblem requested by Bishop Fabre-Jeune. It is a symbol of his place of birth and heritage, plus a symbol of the faith so deeply rooted within the Fabre family. This particular palm tree has eight branches, one for each member of the Fabre family: Bishop Jacques, his parents Providence and Anita, and his five siblings. The strong roots of the Royal Palm Tree are clearly visible, reaching out to the tip of the Cross Fleury.

The lower half of the shield is subdivided quarterly, silver and red. The first quarter (upper left, silver) contains a green Butterfly, a symbol for migration. The island of Hispaniola is home to one of the species of this migratory monarch butterfly. The use of green is associated with new life.

The second quarter (upper right, red) features a Gold Crown borrowed from the coat of arms of the Scalabrinians — the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo — an international community of religious serving migrants and refugees of different cultures, religions and ethnicities. Bishop Fabre-Jeune is a professed member of this community.

The third quarter (lower left, red) contains a Phoenix rising from the flames: a mythical bird that rejuvenates itself by dying in fire and being reborn from the ashes, a symbol of eternal life. The phoenix is from the coat of arms of the city of Chicago, where Jacques Fabre-Jeune professed first vows as a Scalabrinian in 1982.

The fourth quarter (lower right, silver) contains a Fig Bough with Fruit, representing the Old Testament prophet Amos. Before responding to the call of the Lord, Amos was “a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore-fig trees” (7:14).

The lower portion of the shield contains a Cross Fleury over all with a fleur-de-lis at the end of each arm. The fleur-de-lis represents a lily, which is commonly associated with the Virgin Mary. In the story of our salvation, Mary is the first of those called to serve the Lord. The use of the cross is also a nod to the first Bishop of Charleston, John England (1820-1842), whose coat of arms featured a Cross Bottony over all.”

The explanation on the diocesan website states, “Bishop Fabre-Jeune desired a coat of arms that would define clearly, simply, and humbly his heritage, his faith, his life and his ministry as a priest and as the shepherd for the Church in Charleston, South Carolina.”

I think it succeeds on the latter desires of showing heritage, faith and life & ministry but can’t agree that it succeeds to do so either clearly or simply. Can you even make out the Phrygian Cap above the palm tree? Imagine what it will look like when it’s an inch high at the top of letterhead!

Abbot Michael Brunner, OSB

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On May 7 the Rt. Rev. Michael Brunner, OSB, elected Abbot on January 17, 2022, will receive the abbatial blessing as the fourth Abbot of the Abbey of St. Gregory the Great in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

The armorial achievement, or coat of arms, of Abbot Michael is composed of the shield with its various charges, the external ornaments of an abbot and the motto. The shield contains only the personal arms assumed by Abbot Michael. While it is often customary to impale (combine side-by-side on the same shield) the personal arms with those of the abbey that is not mandatory and it is up to the personal choice of the armiger. 

The coat of arms has a red field or background. This color is used liturgically in the Church on feasts connected with the Holy Spirit. Prominent in the upper portion is the descending silver (white) dove with a halo containing a red cross indicative of Divinity. This, of course, alludes to the Divine guidance and light of the Holy Spirit. The Abbot’s motto is taken from the great hymn, “Veni, Sancte Spiritus” so, the dove is a tie-in with the Abbot’s motto. The dove is also an allusion to the Abbey’s patron saint, Pope St. Gregory the Great who, in art, is often seen with the dove that symbolizes the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Issuing from the dove is a golden (yellow) beam of light and on this beam is a black cross pattee charged at the center with a gold (yellow) crescent. This black cross is combined with a red cross bottony turned in an “X” shape and placed behind the black cross.

The black cross pattee is a symbol of the Abbot’s Christian faith as well as his German ethnic background. The red cross turned in saltire (and X-shape) behind it is used in heraldry to symbolize St. Michael, the Abbot’s patron saint. The crescent on the cross is symbolic of Our Lady under the title of The Immaculate Conception and is there as a symbol of the Abbot’s Marian devotion.

The shield is ensigned with the black pilgrim’s hat, called a galero, used in heraldry for clerics in place of the traditional helmet, mantling and crest. The hat has black cords terminating in twelve black tassels. Behind the shield and extending above and below it is a gold (yellow) abbot’s crozier with the sudarium (veil) attached. This veil was used in former times to protect the shaft of the crozier from dirt and perspiration before the time when abbots would have worn liturgical gloves. While the veil is no longer used it remains as a heraldic emblem to distinguish the crozier of an abbot. These are the ornaments proper to a prelate with the rank of abbot according to the Instruction of the Holy See, “Ut Sive” of March 1969.

On a scroll below the shield we see Abbot Michael’s chosen motto, “Veni Pater Pauperum” which is from the Pentecost Sequence, “Veni, Sancte Spiritus”.

It was both my privilege and my pleasure to devise and depict the armorial bearings of Abbot Michael.

Bishop Fernandes of Columbus

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The Most Rev. Earl Fernandes (49) a priest of Cincinnati, Ohio will be ordained and installed as the 13th Bishop of Columbus , Ohio on May 31. The arms he is assuming makes a clear reference to the archdiocesan arms of Cincinnati by the inclusion of the plow. The escallop shells refer to Baptism and to the Holy Trinity.

A perfectly acceptable coat of arms, designed by Renato Poletti.

New Seattle Auxiliary

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On May 3 the Most Rev. Franklin Schuster (50) was ordained Titular Bishop of Hirina and Auxiliary to the Archbishop of Seattle. The coat of arms he assumed, designed and executed by Renato Poletti, is:

As is my usual custom I will not undertake to critique the artwork.

While there is certainly nothing wrong with dividing a shield per pale with two different tinctures when it is done in this manner with a single charge on each side of the field it has the overall, albeit unintended, effect of making the shield look like impaled arms. Two coats of arms marshaled together on the same shield is the custom for married armigerous persons or, especially in the case of ecclesiastical heraldry, an indication of personal arms and arms of jurisdiction. These are frequently marshaled together to indicate the “marriage” of the armiger with the body over which he presides.

A field of two colors divided per pale would be seen as a single coat of arms if the charges on it were imposed overall and “crossed” the line of impalement illustrating that the two colors are making a single field.

In addition, a silver (white) candle on a gold (yellow) field violates the tincture rule unnecessarily. This rule has many exceptions to it but it may be ignored when there is a good reason. I don’t really see such a reason here. While individual armigers often assign a particular meaning to the use of a specific tincture there is no set and established symbolism behind any color in heraldry. Therefore, their use isn’t a necessity. In the case of this design a blue field could have been used alone with both the silver (white) candle upon it and silver or gold star simply placed in chief without losing the idea behind the design, namely, that it represents both Christmas (the star) and Easter (the candle).

That would have made for a simpler design that was quite effective while, at the same time, avoiding the tincture issues as well as the appearance of impaled arms.

An opportunity missed. The overall coat of arms is pleasant looking and it isn’t really “bad”. It’s just, like so very many other coats of arms we see among bishops today, not as good as it could have, or should have been.