On December 5 the Most Rev. Mark William O’Connell (61), a priest and, since 2016, an Auxiliary Bishop of Boston will be installed as the 11th Bishop of the Diocese of Albany, New York.

BLAZON: Arms impaled. In the dexter: Azure, a beaver springing Tenné holding in its dexter paw a bishop’s crozier Or; in chief to sinister a crescent Argent. In the sinister: per fess Argent and Vert, a saltire between in chief and in base two trefoils facing the centerpoint all Counterchanged; overall a stag’s head erased Tenné. On a chief barry wavy Azure and Argent; overall a fish naiant Or. The shield is ensigned with an episcopal cross Or and a bishop’s galero with cords and twelve tassels flanking the shield disposed in three rows of one, two and three all Vert. On a scroll below the shield is the motto, “Invenimus Messiam”.

The armorial bearings of Bishop Mark O’Connell impale the coat of arms of his episcopal See with his personal coat of arms. These evoke his family and heritage as well as his ministry. The coat of arms is composed of a shield with its charges (symbols), a motto and the external ornamentation.

The arms of the Diocese of Albany are composed of a blue field on which are placed a beaver standing on one foot and holding a bishop’s crozier below a silver (white) crescent in the upper right corner.  The beaver holding a crozier in the arms of the See come from the fact that the original name of Albany was “Beaverwyck” as it was a major outpost on the route for traders. In addition, the beaver is an animal closely associated with Canada, where the Bishop was born. It holds a crozier as an indication of Albany as the seat of a bishop. The crescent alludes to the Immaculate Conception, the titular of the cathedral church. 

Bishop O’Connell’s personal coat of arms was originally assumed when he became a bishop in 2016. That design has now been modified by the bishop so that his personal arms have a rather different appearance. I think I have commented on this blog numerous times in the past about how I generally do not favor the idea of an armiger later redesigning and changing his arms. I think it is done far too often, especially among the American episcopate. Nevertheless, it is sometimes strongly desired especially when there may be circumstances involving the adoption of the original coat of arms that influenced that original design. Upon further reflection it may sometimes occur that an armiger has second thoughts about the arms assumed, or simply has a strong desire to try to improve the coat of arms. Under such circumstances a move such as this one—being transferred to become a diocesan bishop—provide a kind of “natural” occasion to modify the existing coat of arms. In this case, the bishop had a clear desire to simplify the design of his personal arms because he was cognizant of the custom in N. America for impaling the personal arms with those of the See. Sometimes, such an impalement renders the personal arms—when they are an especially complex design—difficult to see clearly. So, right from the start of this commission the Bishop requested that some modifications be made in order to simplify the overall look of his personal coat of arms to make it more easily discernable when impaled with those of Albany. After discussing my usual attitude towards modifying existing arms I reluctantly agreed to do what I was being asked and then, I must admit, took to the task with enthusiasm.

The basic design of the main part of the field is based on the arms traditionally associated with the name O’Connell but with some significant changes in order to “difference” them from the original and make them unique to Bishop O’Connell. So, the background divided in half with the upper portion silver (white) and the lower portion green is taken from the O’Connell arms. To this is added a saltire (a cross in the shape of an “X”) as a symbol of St. Andrew, to whom the Bishop has a great devotion, and who was crucified on an X-shaped cross. This saltire is “counterchanged” meaning it’s colors are reversed with the background colors. Above and below the saltire are two trefoils (which also resemble shamrocks). These are also counterchanged to maintain the green and white color scheme. They are depicted facing each other, as it were, with their stems in an attitude towards the center of the shield. In this way they appear to be mirror images of each other. They, too, are taken from the original O’Connell arms. While there are three in the original only two are depicted here for a sense of symmetry. They allude to both the Holy Trinity and the Bishop’s Irish heritage. In addition, the color green is an allusion to the bishop being a canon lawyer because green is the academic color usually associated with Canon Law.

Placed in the center overall there is a stag’s head. This is retained from the arms the Bishop assumed in 2016 where it served there, as it does again here, as a reference to the full stag usually depicted in the arms of O’Connell. For purposes of creating another difference from the original while at the same time hearkening back to the coat of arms the Bishop first assumed, the head of the stag cut off at the neck, rather than the whole animal, has been depicted. Instead of being depicted facing the viewer and colored red it is shown in profile and is colored Tenné. This tone is used in heraldry as a representation of the color brown, which doesn’t exist in heraldic art. The closest approximation of brown that can be used while maintaining heraldic tradition is this “stain”, as opposed to a tincture, called Tenné.

On the upper third of the shield, called a “chief” we see a background composed of blue and silver (white) wavy bars. This is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Boston where Bishop O’Connell served as a priest and an Auxiliary Bishop. The two white lines also represent the two rivers of Albany. Over the wavy lines there is a gold (yellow) fish. This symbol is borrowed from the arms associated with the name Delaney which was the Bishop’s mother’s name. In the Delaney arms it represents the “Salmon of Wisdom” associated with the legend of the mythical warrior, Fionn. In addition, it is worth noting that the fish was the earliest symbol used by the infant Church as a symbol of the faith. The word for fish is ICHTHUS in Greek. Using the letters of the Greek alphabet to spell the word fish, early Christians secretly bore this symbol as it created an acronym with the hidden meaning “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior”. The fish was a pictorial representation of this phrase and thereby formed a secret symbol for the first Christians.

The fish upon the waves, therefore, alludes to the Bishop’s maternal family, the Archdiocese of Boston, the Diocese of Albany as well as the concept of the Apostles—and their successors, the bishops—are called to be “Fishers of Men”. In a further allusion to St. Andrew we know that St. Andrew was present during the miracle of the loaves and fishes, where he identified a boy with five loaves and two fish, which Jesus then multiplied to feed a crowd of five thousand people. This event highlights Andrew’s role in bringing others to Jesus and his participation in the early ministry of Christ.

The external ornaments include a gold episcopal cross placed vertically behind the shield. This is often mistaken for a processional cross like the one used in liturgical processions. However, like other heraldic ornaments the episcopal cross has its origins in something which is no longer actually used. At one time all bishops had, in addition to the processional cross at the head of the procession, another cross carried directly in front of them by a cleric. This other cross was a sign of the office of bishop. While no longer actually used it has remained a symbol of the episcopal office in heraldry.

Similarly, the broad-brimmed green galero was, at one time, worn by bishops in outdoor processions and cavalcades. No longer used it remains a heraldic symbol of the office of bishop and takes the place of the helmet, mantling and crest that would appear in the coat of arms of a layman. In Catholic heraldry the color and number of tassels on the galero indicates the rank of the bearer. The single barred episcopal cross and the green galero with twelve tassels signifies the coat of arms of a bishop according to the Instruction of the Holy See, “Ut Sive” issued in 1969.

The motto chosen by Bishop O’Connell appears on a scroll below the shield. “Invenimus Messiam” which translates to “We Have Found the Messiah” is taken from John 1:41. The words are attributed to Saint Andrew who purportedly used them when greeting people for the first time as a way of announcing the coming of the Lord, His great work of Redemption, and his Resurrection. Bishop O’Connell’s spirituality is deeply rooted in this spiritual dictum.

I was very pleased to assist the Bishop with the modifications to his original coat of arms and to do the current artwork as well.

On September 8 the Rev. P. Bismarck Chau (58) will be ordained a Bishop in the Church and become the Titular Bishop of Catrum and Auxiliary Bishop to HE, Joseph Cardinal Tobin, Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Newark, NJ.

BLAZON: Argent on a triple mound issuant in base Sable a Latin cross Azure charged with a fleur-de-lis Argent; on a chief wavy Azure flanked by oak leaves Argent a human hand couped with the first two fingers raised in an attitude of benediction Or. 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: “Dios Es Mi Fuerza”. (God is my strength)

EXPLANATION: The armorial bearings of Bishop Bismarck Chau reflect his family name, his Baptismal patron, the country of his birth and his ministry. The shield is composed primarily of the colors blue and white. These are the colors of the flag of Nicaragua where the bishop and his family originate. In the lower portion of the shield on a silver (white) background we see rising from the bottom of the shield a mound of three black hillocks. The three stylized hills represent that Nicaragua is known as a land of volcanoes. The hills create a kind of stylized mountain and the black color represents the black volcanic ash.

In addition, this stylized mound of rocks is also a nod to St. Peter whom Jesus called “the rock” on which He would build His church. Pedro (Peter) is the Bishop’s baptismal name. The black color of the rocks also has another meaning. The Chau–or Zhou–dynasty in China from which the family name is derived, was known for establishing an
extensive system of bronze metal-working. The black color emulates the dark color of bronze and so pays tribute to the Bishop’s family name.

Rising from the mound is the blue cross of faith charged with a silver (white) fleur-de-lis. The Bishop sees this as symbolizing the fact that he is who he is because of Christ; because he died on the Cross to give us life and made us all into a new creation. The cross not only symbolizes salvation and freedom, but also strength. God gave Jesus strength to carry his cross to the end. The fleur-de-lis has long been used in heraldry as a symbol of Our Lady. Mary was also a source of strength for Jesus, at calvary especially, at the foot of the Cross. It is worth noting that of all the symbols of Our Lady that could have been chosen the fleur-de-lis was used because it is a heraldic charge that also appears in the coat of arms of Pope Leo XIV who appointed Bishop Chau to the episcopacy as well as the coat of arms of Cardinal Tobin, whom the Bishop will serve and support by his own episcopal ministry. Thus, it honors those two figures important in the life of Bishop Chau.

The upper third of the shield, called a “chief” is separated from the rest by a wavy line representing water. The water alludes to Nicaragua being also known as a land of lakes, and is also symbolic of the waters of Baptism through which we all pass to become part of the Body of Christ. On this chief we see a gold (yellow) colored hand in blessing. This is symbolic of the divine blessing on all the Bishop’s endeavors. Gold is a color often used in heraldry to evoke divinity. In addition, this divine hand in blessing is also an allusion to the Bishop’s work with the Deaf Community. American Sign Language uses the hands arranged in different gestures to communicate. The hand is flanked by two silver (white or gray-ish) oak leaves. These are borrowed directly from the coat of arms of Bismarck as a representation of the Bishop’s given middle name which he most often uses and by which he is most commonly known and called.

The motto below the shield is taken from Isaiah 49:5 saying (in Spanish), “Dios Es Mi Fuerza”,  which, in English, translates to: “God is My Strength”.

It was my great pleasure and honor to design the Bishop’s armorial bearings and to prepare the artwork as well.