Author Archives: guyselvester

Marshaling is Everything! (Bp. Martin UPDATED)

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You may recall that in a post about several new bishops’ installations I wrote the following about the coat of arms of Bp. Martin of Charlotte, N.C.:

“May 29 saw the ordination and installation of the Most Rev. Michael Martin, OFMConv (62) as the fifth Bishop of Charlotte, North Carolina.

The diocesan website describes his personal arms, “To the viewer’s right is the Franciscan coat of arms. Featuring the traditional Franciscan Tau cross with two arms crossing one another, it is rich in symbolism. The two arms, one Christ’s and the other St. Francis of Assisi’s, both bear the stigmata. They symbolize God’s love and Francis’s loving response to the Word made incarnate, Taberski explained. It is an image found throughout the ministries, friaries, missions and sites served by the Franciscan order.

On the right side of the shield, the top (known as the “chief”) and the bottom (the “base”) feature references to George Calvert and his son Cecil Calvert – the first and second barons of Baltimore. The Calverts were among the first Catholics to arrive in colonial America. They established the then Province of Maryland as a safe place for English Catholics to emigrate to since they were no longer able to freely practice their faith at home. In the coat of arms, the use of six vertical stripes – alternately gold and black, with the diagonal stripe in color – recalls Bishop Martin’s hometown of Baltimore.”

A nice simple design but perhaps the arms of Calvert would have looked better depicted once in the main part of the field with the Franciscan symbols occupying a chief?“

Well, my friend and frequent collaborator, Mr. Sandy Turnbull of the Australian Heraldry Society, read that post and decided to have a bit of fun and create a new emblazonment of Bp. martin’s coat of arms that followed my advice. I’d say the result (below) speaks for itself. I was right! The whole achievement does look better as I suggested. See? One can’t just throw things onto a shield and call it heraldry. How the design is arranged—to be aesthetically pleasing as well as heraldically correct—is a large part of good heraldic design.

Bishop Beckman of Knoxville, Tennessee

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The Most Rev. James Beckman, (61) a priest of the Diocese of Nashville since 1990 was ordained a bishop and installed as the Fourth Bishop of Knoxville on July 26. For reasons I don’t fully understand, his installation Mass took place in a local convention center despite the fact that only a few years ago in 2018 the diocese undertook to build a $30 million dollar new cathedral with an area of 28,000 feet and a seating capacity of 1,358. It begs the question: what was the new cathedral for?

The armorial bearings he assumes upon becoming a bishop are the following. The diocesan coat of arms, designed when the diocese was established in 1988 are a dumpster fire and the less said about them the better. After all, this bishop had no hand in designing them and he wisely conformed to the convention of not changing them since they have been in use for 36 years already.

According to information from the Diocesan website his personal arms contain what they do because…

“Bishop-elect Beckman is an avid hiker and has a deep appreciation for the beauty of God’s creation. His coat of arms reflects this part of his life, in which he has found much solace and communion with God in prayer. His personal arms display a symbolic natural setting on a field of green (vert), which also has ties to the bishop’s heritage, and to Sacred Scripture.

The bishop’s surname is German, and derives from the word beck, which means a stream or brook. This is depicted by the wavy vertical lines (pale wavy) painted white and blue (argent and azure) in the center of the shield. This also recalls the prophecy related by St. John the Evangelist about the City of God, the New Jerusalem, which he sees in a vision near the end of the Book of Revelation: “Then the angel showed me, the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city” (Rev 22:1).  

John also saw, “on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Rev 22:2).  The tree of life and its fruit are alluded to here by twelve leaves of the tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). This was chosen as the state tree of Tennessee in 1947.  It is an appropriate symbol for the state that comprises both the Diocese of Nashville, where Bishop-elect Beckman was born and served as a priest, and the Diocese of Knoxville, which he will serve as its bishop.

The charges were chosen for good reasons. The coat of arms is clear and uncomplicated. The only real down side is that they are impaled with the awful coat of arms of the See.

Bishop Forbes of Roseau

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On July 25, the Feast of St. James the Apostle, the Most Rev. Kendrick J. Forbes (48), a priest of the Archdiocese of Nassau, Bahamas was ordained a bishop and installed as the tenth Bishop of Roseau, Dominica in the Antilles (West Indies).

Upon his ordination to the episcopacy he has assumed the following coat of arms:

The personal coat of arms assumed by Bishop Forbes combines symbols that are meaningful to him reflecting his, origins, his spiritual life and priestly ministry. At present, the Bishop has elected to assume a personal coat of arms only. In the Catholic Church it is often customary for a diocesan bishop to combine his personal coat of arms side by side on the same shield with the coat of arms of his diocese in a form of marshaling called “impaling”. It represents his marriage to the diocese and his jurisdiction over it. However, this custom is far from a universal one and, at present, the Diocese of Roseau does not employ a unique coat of arms as a diocesan corporate symbol. 

The main part of the shield shows a light blue field on which there is a silver (white) anchor. On either side of the anchor are two eight-pointed stars. For centuries, the anchor has been a symbol of hope used in art, in the liturgy and in heraldry. The eight-pointed star is borrowed from the coat of arms of Pope Francis who named Bishop Forbes to the episcopate. There are two for balance and symmetry. The upper third of the shield is called a “chief” in heraldry and it depicts the black and gold (yellow) checkered pattern borrowed from the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Nassau where Bishop Forbes was ordained and served as a priest before becoming a bishop.

The motto below the shield is,“Mane Nobiscum Domine” taken from Luke 24:29 meaning “Stay with us Lord.” 

It was both my privilege and my pleasure to design and to emblazon the bishop’s coat of arms for him.

Archabbot Douglas Nowicki, OSB

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Retired Archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., (79), died Tuesday, July 23, in Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, following a brief illness. The eleventh Archabbot of Saint Vincent, he served from 1991 until he reached the retirement age of 75 in May of 2020, when he retired. He was the second longest-serving Archabbot in the 178-year history of Saint Vincent. With more than 150 monks, St. Vincent was the first Benedictine monastery in the United States, and is one of the largest monasteries in the world. He will be buried on July 29, 2024.

When he was elected in 1991 I was still a member of the monastic Community in Latrobe. My mentor—the late Géza Grosschmid, Ph.D.—and I were given the job of devising a coat of arms for the new Archabbot. Ultimately, Archabbot Douglas rejected the design Dr. Grosschmid suggested and went with a modified version of it devised by me. Essentially, it illustrated the motto, taken from St. John Henry Newman, “Cor Ad Cor Loquitur” which means “Heart Speaks To Heart”.

Above we see my original drawing of the coat of arms without the motto added. The dexter impalement depicts the coat of arms adopted by St. Vincent Archabbey in the early 20th Century under the abbatial term of the Rt. Rev. Alfred Koch, OSB, the 5th Archabbot of St. Vincent. It depicts the blue and silver elongated diamond-shaped fusils taken from the arms of the Royal House of Wittelsbach, the Kings of Bavaria. This alluded to the origin of the founding monk and first Archabbot of St. Vincent, Boniface Wimmer, OSB who was from St. Michael’s Abbey in Bavaria, as well as to the patronage and financial assistance given to the fledgling community through the Ludwigs-Missionverein, an organization established by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to support missionary efforts in the new world.

The black horizontal fess with three plates (white roundels) seen on the arms of William Penn is reshaped as an inverted chevron to form the letter “V” for Vincent and the three plates are charged with three crosses. The arms of the Archabbey are impaled—joined on the same shield—with the Archabbot’s personal arms. This marshaling of two separate coats of arms on the same shield employs the same method used for the coat of arms of two armigerous people who are married. It indicates the “marriage” of the armiger with the place of his jurisdiction with the arms of the jurisdiction occupying the place of the groom and the personal arms occupying the place of the bride.

The Archabbot’s personal arms, as I said, illustrate the motto.

I had also presented Archabbot Douglas with the option of displaying his arms ensigned by a galero with twenty tassels rather than merely twelve. In a manner similar to that of an archbishop using twenty tassels to a bishop’s twelve tassels, I proposed that as an Archabbot he also make use of this distinctive galero indicating his rank. Archabbots don’t actually have any greater jurisdiction or privileges over other Abbots (the one exception being that he may occupy a senior place in the procession whenever attending a gathering of several Abbots). In addition, none of the other previous ten Archabbots of St. Vincent made use of such a galero so, ultimately, he decided to honor that precedent and rejected the idea.

Although his two immediate predecessors had armorial achievements that did not display the usual veiled abbatial crozier Archabbot Douglas agreed with my suggestion he do so. When St. Paul VI reformed many things concerning the dress and externals of the hierarchy in 1969 one of his decisions included removing the mitre and crozier from the coats of arms of Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops. They were seen as superfluous since episcopal coats of arms make use of the episcopal cross as the sign of the armiger holding the rank of (arch)bishop. However, it was not the intention to remove the use of the veiled crozier—a peculiarly abbatial heraldic symbol—from the coats of arms of Abbots. The veil became a symbol of abbatial croziers in a time before Abbots would have worn pontifical gloves when pontificating. The veil served the useful function of protecting the shaft of the crozier from dirt and oils from the hand. Later, even after pontifical gloves were used by Abbots, the veil, or sudarium, remained attached to the crozier to distinguish such a heraldic emblem from that of a bishop. Despite the reforms of St. Paul VI which referred to the coats of arms specifically of Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops, the veiled crozier remains to this day as the heraldic emblem of Abbots and Abbesses.

As I said, Archabbot Douglas was happy to follow my advice in this regard. I noted on one of my subsequent visits to the Archabbey that the display of archabbatial coats of arms in the Archabbot’s outer office included a new rendering of Archabbot Douglas’ coat of arms with the veiled crozier omitted. It could be that there was simply an effort to have his coat of arms artistically conform to the pattern followed by his two immediate predecessors. One also is moved to wonder, however, if the person responsible was simply acting in ignorance? It would be hoped that the move was not a deliberate one. If it were, it would constitute an action displaying the most blatant ignorance of commonly accepted heraldic practices in the Church as laid out in the excellent and scholarly work of the late Bruno B. Heim, Heraldry in the Catholic Church, as well as in several other similar publications. In other words, don’t take my word for it! It’s verifiable independently of my opinion. In fact, my collaborator on this project for Archabbot Douglas, Dr. Grosschmid, was a close friend and collaborator of Archbishop Heim who was widely accepted as the foremost expert in Catholic ecclesiastical heraldry of his day. Dr. Grosschmid concurred with my assertion that the Archabbot’s coat of arms should employ the veiled crozier which is why I felt so comfortable advising the Archabbot in that way.

Nevertheless, in this later rendering it was omitted. I note, too, that Archabbot Douglas’ successor, Archabbot Martin de Porres Bartel, OSB, the twelfth Archabbot, similarly omits the veiled crozier from his armorial achievement, no doubt advised in the same manner that was (accidentally or deliberately) ignorant of the appropriate practices. I note, too, with some satisfaction that the Wikipedia article about Archabbot Douglas correctly displays his coat of arms according to the manner in which I designed it. (below)

May he Rest in Peace.

Burlington’s Own Bishop McDermott

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The Most Rev. John J. McDermott (61), a priest of the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont who recently served—twice—as diocesan administrator in the interim times between bishops, was ordained a bishop and installed as the XI Bishop of Burlington on July 15th.

His assumed armorial bearings are understated and impale well with the rather nice coat of arms of the diocese.

According to information provided by the Diocese: “the Bishop’s personal coat of arms is divided horizontally by a wavy line (per fess wavy)into two sections painted respectively white and blue (argent and azure). Following high school, Bishop McDermott attended the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, and this allusion to the sea refers to those days as they were important to his discernment to become a priest, as well as to the waters of Lake Champlain. 

Two six-pointed wavy stars (estoilles) appear, one in the “sky” to refer to Our Lady,the Star of the Sea, and the other in the “sea” itself. A six-pointed star is a traditional symbol not only of Our Lady but also of Saint Joseph, as a descendant of the royal house of King David. Its position here depicts the holiness of Saint Joseph as a reflection of that of his Immaculate spouse. 

Between the stars is a scallop shell, a traditional attribute of Saint John the Baptist, the Bishop’s baptismal patron saint. The shell is divided along the same wavy line as the shield, as if it were being dipped into the water at the moment of conferring Baptism. The shell and the stars are all painted counterchanged, that is, blue where the field is white, and white where the field is blue.“

A pleasant coat of arms which kept things nice and simple, that is to say, clear.

Same Tune; Different Arrangement

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For quite a few years now I have collaborated with Messrs. Richard d’Apice, AM, KCSG, AIH and Sandy Turnbull on a small committee called the “Ecclesiastical Working Party” under the auspices of the Australian Heraldry Society. Together, we have created coats of arms for dioceses and bishops in Australia, and also in some other countries in the Pacific region, since some time around 2011.

Mr. d’Apice acts as the corresponding secretary, as it were, for the group. He is the point of contact and communication for the client with the group. In addition, an enthusiastic heraldist for much of his life, he has input into the designs we propose. That’s where I come in. Frequently I act as the consultant on the design either by proposing a different alternative to that of Mr. d’Apice; or by making suggestions to enhance or “tweak” his proposal. Together, we are able to reach consensus and present a single proposed design to the client. This, in turn, is still often modified further as the process continues. I also assist with the composition of the blazon.

For the artwork, we hand off to the talents of Mr. Turnbull. Occasionally, I might provide a sketch merely to illustrate the proposal or one of my suggestions. But, the initial draft as well as the final artwork is provided by Sandy.

He surprised me not long ago. After years of collaboration on numerous coats of arms he created a rendering in his own style of my armorial bearings and presented it to me. I’m very pleased with it and I’m happy to share it with you now.

For those not already familiar with it the blazon is:

Or, a Greek cross fleury; a chief sapiné Vert.

The line of fir trees suggests my surname, Selvester (originally Silvestri and later anglicized after emigrating to the U.S.) which means a forest dweller, or woodsman. It represents my paternal Italian heritage. The colors green and gold allude to my maternal Irish ancestry. The red cross of faith is the single charge but its arms terminate in fleurs-de-lis as symbolic of both Our Lady and the Blessed Trinity. The motto is a pun on my given name, Guy, which means “a guide”. The shield is ensigned with the galero of a priest.

It’s always nice to have one’s coat of arms rendered by different artists in their own distinctive style. I am especially pleased with this one.

Caddy to Cairns (UPDATED!)

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The Rev. Joseph Caddy (64) a priest of the Archdiocese of Melbourne in Australia will be ordained a bishop on August 15 and installed as the 10th Bishop of Cairns, Australia.

His armorial achievement, to be assumed upon episcopal ordination, is as follows:

The existing arms of the diocese occupy the dexter impalement. The personal arms consist of the pelican in its piety. This is borrowed from the coat of arms of Corpus Christi College which was the seminary attended by the armiger. Its eucharistic imagery is also reflected in the motto which translates to, “He fills the hungry with good things”. The carpenter’s square in chief is a reference to his Baptismal patron, Joseph and because his father, grandfather, and one brother are/were all carpenters.

The three Passion nails meeting in base allude to the coat of arms traditionally used by the English Caddy family which depict three piles engrailed meeting in base. The square and the nails, then, are a reference to his given and family names.

I was happy to act as a consultant on the design of the bishop’s personal arms in conjunction with Mr. Richard d’Apice, AM, KCSG. The artwork was very nicely done by Mr. Sandy Turnbull of Australia. Both are members of the Australian Heraldry Society.

UPDATE: Thanks to a comment from a regular reader asking about the diocesan arms we made a change. His question prompted me to refer back to my collaborators. In turn, the Diocese of Cairns was contacted and I, myself, delved into the pretty good small library of my own which I have amassed over the last thirty years. It turns out that our original depiction showed an fimbriation that really shouldn’t have been there! So, it was back to the drawing board for Mr. Turnbull who promptly made the correction. The end result is the corrected , and I think improved, coat of arms for Bishop Caddy, well in time for his ordination & installation.

And all thanks to a reader of this blog!

Some Recent Installations/Ordinations in the U.S.

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During the last month there have been some vacant Sees filled in the United States. The Most Reverend Christopher Coyne (65) succeeded to the See of Hartford on May 1 becoming its fourteenth bishop (and sixth archbishop). A very fine achievement depicted in the style of the late Deacon Paul Sullivan…except I think it is ill-conceived to place a green cross on a blue field. Yes, there is the slightest fimbriation on the cross to protect against violation of the so-called tincture “rule”. Nevertheless, the overall appearance is odd…and the fimbriation, such as it is, is entirely too narrow to the point of being almost invisible!

The Most Rev. James Ruggieri (56) was ordained a bishop and installed as the fourteenth Bishop of Portland Maine on May 7.

According to the diocesan website, “The personal arms of Bishop Ruggieri are divided horizontally (per fess). The upper half is painted white (argent) and bears an anchor painted blue (azure). It recalls the birthplace and home of the Bishop in the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island. That state’s flag and seal comprise a gold anchor and a scroll with the motto “Hope.”

The anchor is an ancient symbol of the theological virtue of hope, deriving from the words of the Letter to the Hebrews: “We have this hope as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul …” (Hebrews 6:19). In this depiction, the stock of the anchor is positioned on the shank to resemble a Passion Cross, an equally ancient symbol of the theological virtue of faith. As Pope Benedict XVI pointed out, “Hope, in fact, is a key word in Biblical faith—so much so that in several passages the words faith and hope seem interchangeable. Thus, the Letter to the Hebrews closely links the “fullness of faith” (10:22) to “the confession of our hope without wavering” (10:23).

In the lower half of the shield is a depiction of the five loaves and two fish that the Lord Jesus multiplied to feed five thousand men and their families. The only pre-resurrection miracle that is recounted in all four Gospels (Mt 14:13-21; Mk 6:32-44; Lk 9:10b-17; Jn 6:1-15), it holds a special place in the story of the public ministry of Jesus and points to the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. The Feeding of the Five Thousand also highlights the cooperation of the apostles – whose successor the bishop is – with the Lord, both in the ministry of charity, and as celebrants and guardians of the Holy Eucharist and the other sacraments.”

The episcopal cross is depicted incorrectly, but more about that to follow.

The Most Rev. William Battersby (64), Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit, was installed on May 20 as the eleventh Bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

His coat of arms, while very simple, seems a bit overly given to the devotional. The explanation from the diocesan website says, “For the personal coat of arms of Bishop Battersby…at the top of the shield is a Celtic processional cross meant to honor Bishop Battersby’s Irish heritage. It is shaped like a traditional cross but with a ring, representing the sun, around the intersection of the stem and arms. The whole cross is decorated with ornate Gaelic patterns.

Bishop Battersby’s Coat of Arms includes the three Sacred Hearts. The hearts represent the Holy Family and symbolize the unending and boundless love for us. The wounded heart signifies his devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It also pays tribute to Sacred Heart Major Seminary where he prepared for the priesthood and at which he served as vice-rector and dean of seminarian formation at the time he was called to the episcopacy.

The second heart, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, signifies the trust and confidence that Bishop Battersby has in the Blessed Mother’s intercession and protection. The sword symbolizes the sorrows of Mary, the flames represent her burning love for Jesus and us, her children and the roses represent her purity. 

Bishop Battersby’s devotion to St. Joseph is represented in the third of the Sacred Hearts, the Chaste Heart of Joseph, inflamed with love and adorned with the white lily of purity, a symbol of his faith and steadiness.”

Again, I’ll say something about the episcopal cross below.

May 29 saw the ordination and installation of the Most Rev. Michael Martin, OFMConv (62) as the fifth Bishop of Charlotte, North Carolina.

The diocesan website describes his personal arms, “To the viewer’s right is the Franciscan coat of arms. Featuring the traditional Franciscan Tau cross with two arms crossing one another, it is rich in symbolism. The two arms, one Christ’s and the other St. Francis of Assisi’s, both bear the stigmata. They symbolize God’s love and Francis’s loving response to the Word made incarnate, Taberski explained. It is an image found throughout the ministries, friaries, missions and sites served by the Franciscan order.

On the right side of the shield, the top (known as the “chief”) and the bottom (the “base”) feature references to George Calvert and his son Cecil Calvert – the first and second barons of Baltimore. The Calverts were among the first Catholics to arrive in colonial America. They established the then Province of Maryland as a safe place for English Catholics to emigrate to since they were no longer able to freely practice their faith at home. In the coat of arms, the use of six vertical stripes – alternately gold and black, with the diagonal stripe in color – recalls Bishop Martin’s hometown of Baltimore.”

A nice simple design but perhaps the arms of Calvert would have looked better depicted once in the main part of the field with the Franciscan symbols occupying a chief? And again there is an incorrect episcopal cross!

So, my criticism of that, which I have often written about in this blog, is that, firstly, it is NOT a “processional” cross!! It is an episcopal cross—a heraldic symbol—which indicates the coat of arms belongs to a bishop. It is, in fact THE heraldic symbol indicating episcopal arms. The galero, while traditional, is not necessary, nor is a green galero with 12 tassels exclusive to the arms of bishops. But the inclusion of the episcopal cross is truly the sign—and the only essential one—to indicate that the achievement depicts the coat of arms of a bishop.

As an external ornament it is NOT subject to personalization. An armiger has a great deal of choice regarding what is depicted on the shield. However, the external ornaments are not subject to his whim, nor may they be used to convey further personal significance or symbolism. Rather, their purpose is to indicate rank in the overall achievement. The blazon may not specifiy a certain type, shape, color, ornamentation, or embellishment to the galero, or the episcopal cross. Each and every artist is free to depict the episcopal cross as he pleases.

This idea of extending the personal symbolism to the external ornaments is occurring more and more of late…as more and more people with very little background in, or knowledge of heraldry are being asked to design episcopal coats of arms. It is amateurish and a grossly mistaken thing to do.

New Coadjutor of Camden, New Jersey

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On May 21 Pope Francis appointed the Most Rev. Joseph Williams (50) a priest and bishop from the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis to be the Coadjutor Bishop of Camden, NJ. Bishop Williams has been serving as Titular Bishop of Idassa and Auxiliary of St. Paul-Minneapolis since 2022. He will assist the current Bishop of Camden, Dennis Sullivan (74) whose resignation from the See of Camden, submitted in 2020 when he turned 75, will be accepted on his 80th birthday, March 17, 2025. At that time, as Coadjutor, Bishop Williams will automatically succeed to the See. There are no longer Coadjutor Bishops without the right of succession appointed in the Church as there had been at one time.

The Bishop’s coat of arms (below) will make for an interesting achievement when eventually impaled with those of the Diocese of Camden.

The arms of the See of Camden are composed of a black field on which are placed three silver elephants’ heads, which are arms derived from the arms of Charles Pratt, First Earl of Camden and Lord Chancellor of England, and for whom the See City is named. Three gold crosses accompany the elephants’ heads, in honor of the Blessed Trinity and for difference in order to make the shield peculiar to the Diocese of Camden. Above the elephant heads and crosses is a silver crescent to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary in her title of the Immaculate Conception, titular of the Cathedral Church in Camden.

Bishop Bersabal, Auxiliary of Sacramento

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Father Reynaldo Bersabal (59) who was originally a priest of the Diocese of Cagayan de Oro in his native Philippines and who later incardinated as a priest of the Diocese of Sacramento in California has been named the Titular Bishop of Balecium and Auxiliary Bishop of Sacramento. His episcopal ordination will take place on May 31.

The main part of the shield shows a similar background to the coat of arms of the Diocese of Sacramento with the colors reversed. The field is blue with a large gold (yellow) triangular shape called a “pile”. In this case it is a pile reversed issuant in base. On this pile is a green anchor which is a symbol of the theological virtue of Hope. The anchor has long been a symbol associated with hope and green is the liturgical color used in Ordinary Time because it is also a symbol of hope and growth.

At the top of the shield to the left is a symbol for St. Teresa of Avila, to whom the bishop has a great devotion. The saint herself described her heart as having been pierced by God’s love with a spear, or arrow that was aflame. On the right is a  gold (yellow) sun on which appears the three letters “IHS” in red. This sunburst charged with the monogram is used as a symbol for three things. It is a depiction of the Holy Name of Jesus using the first three letters of His name in Greek. This is borrowed from the coat of arms of Pope Francis who appointed the bishop. The shape of the sunburst is borrowed from the flag and coat of arms of the Philippines where it is seen prominently. So, it is a symbol of his native place. It also has the appearance of the monstrance containing the Sacred Host and so it is thirdly symbolic of the Eucharist since he has been appointed a bishop during the national Eucharistic revival. As a symbol of the Blessed Sacrament it is also another allusion to the Diocese of Sacramento.

The motto below the shield is, “In Autem Verbo Tuo” from Luke 5:5.

I was pleased to be able to assist the bishop with the creation of his coat of arms.

Cardinal Gibbons

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The varied armorial bearings of James Cardinal Gibbons. I often speak about the incorrect practice of a prelate deciding to change or modify his existing coat of arms. Even when arms are assumed (as opposed to granted by a heraldic authority) the bearer should not feel free to completely change them. Sometimes arms are augmented to reflect a new honor received or a change in status. However, completely changing a coat of arms, once assumed, should be avoided.

Gibbons was made Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina which did not yet have its own diocese, in 1868 and served there until he was made Bishop of Richmond, Virginia from 1872-1877. He bore the first coat of arms in both of those places. When he was made archbishop of Baltimore in 1877 he simply modified the external ornaments to reflect his promotion but still used the same shield depicting the seated Virgin Mary. Over the course of the next 44 years of his tenure in Baltimore he then changed his coat of arms no less than three times!

He adopted the arms showing the Holy Spirit descending from a cloud over the globe and also made use of an impalement depicting a pall (pallium). This would have been before the archdiocese had a coat of arms for itself and Gibbons was simply doing with this variant what many an archbishop had done. Namely, using an impalement with a pallium to indicate the status of a metropolitan archbishop.

In 1911, however, he changed his arms entirely again and adopted the coat of arms he bore until his death in 1921. These were done for him by Pierre Chaignon La Rose and I would think that what brought about the last change was the adoption of an archdiocesan coat of arms with which Gibbons’ personal arms were impaled. No doubt La Rose, who was fond of “correcting” coats of arms he didn’t like, convinced Gibbons to adopt the last design which was based on the arms of Gibbons used in Ireland (by a family the cardinal may or may not have had any connection to) differenced by the escallop shell, a symbol of St. James.

I have to admit his original coat of arms wasn’t very good and the final one he ended up with was rather good. But, the process of making many and varied changes throughout his life is not good at all.

Notker Wolf, OSB – RIP

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The Most Rev. Notker Wolf, OSB (83) the former Abbot-Primate of the Benedictine Confederation (2000-2016) who, before that, served as the Archabbot of St. Ottilien Archabbey in Germany from 1977-2000 passed away in Frankfurt on April 3, 2024. He had been leading a pilgrimage to Italy but felt unwell. In trying to return home he stopped off overnight in Frankfurt awaiting a morning flight to Munich but passed away during the night in his hotel room.

His arms (rendered by the late Michael McCarthy) were slightly modified after he originally assumed them (second image). In addition, the artist chose to give his galero an extra row of tassels since he was Abbot-Primate of the Order but there is no precedent for such a decision. Abbot-Primate and Archabbots usually use a galero with twelve tassels as other Abbots do. The arms reflected his love of music as well as his own Benedictine monastic life.

May he rest in peace.

Priest—Cardinal—THEN Bishop

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Ángel Cardinal Fernández Artime, S.D.B. (born August 21, 1960) is a priest of the Salesians of St. John Bosco, who has been their Rector Major since 2014, the first Spaniard to hold that office. 

On July 9, 2023, Pope Francis announced his plans to create him a cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 30 September. He is the first superior of a religious congregation be made a cardinal.  At that consistory he was assigned the rank of cardinal deacon with the title of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in Via Tusculana.

Pope Francis told Fernandez he could continue to serve as rector until July 31,2024, when he will be given a new assignment. He was made a member of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life on October 4, 2013. The Salesians plan to hold an election to replace him as rector in the spring of 2025.

His episcopal consecration is scheduled for April 20, 2024. Pope Francis has assigned him the titular see of Ursona with the title of archbishop.

The coat of arms he assumed upon becoming a Cardinal (left) correctly omits any sort of episcopal cross behind the shield. Cardinals are not entitled to use this cross unless they possess the episcopal character. His coat of arms will have the addition of an archiepiscopal cross (right) after his ordination as an archbishop. Until then he uses the armorial bearings of a priest who is a cardinal and his coat of arms will be modified to indicate his rank as an archbishop after April 20.

A Philly Trifecta

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On Friday, March 7 the Most Revs. Keith J. Chylinski (52), Christopher R. Cooke (50) and Efren V. Esmilla (61), all three priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, were ordained bishops in the Church and appointed as Titular Bishop of Gunela, Titular Bishop of Malliana, and Titular Bishop of Ottana respectively, as well as Auxiliary Bishops of Philadelphia. Bishop Chylinski was fortunate to receive the Titular See of Gunela which had belonged most recently to Christophe Cardinal Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States who was present at the liturgy of ordination. That’s rather unusual. He, of course, relinquished his episcopal titular see when he was created a Cardinal-Deacon.

The coats of arms of the three new Auxiliaries are:

There are two curious things about Bishop Chylinski’s coat of arms. The blazon and explanation say that the crosses are, “…crosses pattée, sometimes referred to as Maltese crosses…”

Indeed those depicted are Maltese crosses but that is definitely not the same thing as crosses pattée. Those are two different charges. The blazon should called them crosses of Malta. Pattée crosses have straight edges on them. In addition, it depicts and explains that the episcopal cross (which is incorrectly described as a “processional” cross, which it is not) has a blue gem at the center to honor Our Lady and also an escallop shell on the node to allude to St. James. Those two additions are heraldically unsupportable. The external ornaments indicate the rank of a bearer and are not subject to personalization in this manner. They are depicted generally in a conventionally accepted form and individual artists are free to depict them in their own style.

The blazon, which is not only an official description of a coat of arms but, truly, where the design of the coat of arms “lives” (as opposed to any one artistic rendering), may not stipulate the appearance and depiction of any of the external ornaments. It may indicate that they are part of the achievement but not how they are to be depicted. In ecclesiastical heraldry the Church regulates the use of the external ornaments. The blazon of the arms must be limited to the charges on the shield.

Bishop Barbosa

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On Saturday, February 3, the Most Rev. Christiano Barbosa (47) a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, was ordained as the Titular Bishop of Membressa and Auxiliary Bishop of Boston by His Eminence Sean Cardinal O’Malley, OFM Cap.

The anchor is a fitting charge and placing it overall is also fine heraldically but having it right up against the rather unnecessary “diminished” bordure when they are both gold is heraldically questionable and artistically awkward. The use of the constellation of the Southern Cross as a symbol for Brazil is also a bit odd since it’s usually associated with Australia or New Zealand owing to its inclusion on the flag of those nations.

Other than that the rest of the achievement is fine.

Vittorio Emmanuele di Savoia RIP

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This morning it was announced the Head of the Royal House of Savoy, the son of the last King of Italy, Prince Vittorio Emmanuele, Duke of Savoy passed away at age 86 in Geneva, Switzerland.

He is succeeded as Head of the House of Savoy by his son and heir, Prince Emmanuele Filiberto, aged 51. In June 2023, Emanuele Filberto announced his intention to abdicate his claim to the throne in favor of his daughter, Princess Vittoria of Savoy, when he felt she was ready to succeed. This will cause a dynastic problem since the House of Savoy never allowed for female succession. In such a case the succession, already in dispute, could pass to another branch of the family, the House of Savoy-Aosta.