On Tuesday, February 17, the Most Rev. Peter Dai Bui (56), a priest of the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona will be ordained a bishop as the Titular Bishop of Ausafa and serve as the second Auxiliary Bishop of Phoenix.

BLAZON:  Argent, on a Latin cross reversed throughout Azure between two roses Gules barbed Vert and seeded Or, the Star of the Sea (Stella Maris) at the center point Or, charged with the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Gules (Bui). Shield ensigned with an episcopal cross Or behind the shield and a bishop’s galero Vert cords and twelve tassels disposed in three rows of one, two and three all Vert. On a scroll below the shield the motto: “Omnia in Caritate Fiant”.

EXPLANATION: The personal coat of arms assumed by Bishop Bui combines symbols that are meaningful to him reflecting his family, his spiritual life and priestly ministry. The main part of the shield shows a silver (white) background on which there is a large blue Latin cross which is upside down. This cross is a symbol of St. Peter who, tradition holds, was crucified upside down because he said he wasn’t worthy to die in the same manner as Christ. So, his tormentors turned him upside down. At the center point where to two bars of the cross intersect there is a gold (yellow) eight-pointed star which is a symbol of Stella Maris, the Star of the Sea, an ancient title of Our Lady. The Bishop was born in a fishing village on Phụ Quoc Island. His father was a fisherman, who used the stars to navigate and who also had a strong devotion to Our Lady. In fact, in 1977 when the Bishop’s family escaped from Vietnam in his father’s fishing boat, his father recounted that he used the constellations and prayers to the Blessed Mother to navigate the family to safe shore in Bangkok. Superimposed on the star is the traditional devotional image of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus enflamed, wounded and encircled by a crown of thorns.

In the upper part of the shield on either side of the cross are two red roses with gold (yellow) seeds and green leaves. This symbol is used in heraldry to represent Our Lady under her title of the Mystical Rose (Rosa Mystica) and it also is used to represent St. Thérèse of Lisieux who was popularly known as “The Little Flower”. These two symbols allude to the Bishop’s devotion to the Mother of God and to St. Thérèse.

The motto below the shield is, “Omnia in Caritate Fiant” from 1 Cor 16:14. It can be translated as, “Let all that you do be done in love”.

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. That is not entirely right. 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. “The hat with six pendant tassels (green, purple or black) on each side is universally considered in heraldry as the sign of prelacy. It, therefore, pertains to all who are actually prelates.” (Heim, Bruno B., Heraldry in the Catholic Church 1978, page 114) The galero is green with green cords pendant from it and twelve green tassels arranged in a pyramid shape on either side of the shield. 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 Holy See Secretariat of State, “Ut Sive” of March, 1969.

It was my privilege to assist Bishop Bui in devising and depicting his coat of arms.