Category Archives: Bishops

Bishop Eckman of Pittsburgh (UPDATED)

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Today, His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV appointed the Most Rev. Mark Anthony Eckman (66), a priest of Pittsburgh and since 2021 the Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh, as the 13th Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

His armorial bearings, which not only allude to St. Mark but also, by use of the checkerboard taken from the arms of the See of Pittsburgh (and which, in turn, are borrowed from the arms of William Pitt, where they allude to his tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer) now line up with the same checkerboard when his arms are impaled with those of the See.

It looks a bit odd, however, that the fess in his personal arms is more narrow than that in the arms of the See. It would probably work better artistically, if the two were of the same width. That would give the appearance of a single fess that crosses the two impaled arms but that’s simply the way it will appear. That’s one of the pitfalls of choosing charges and ordinaries directly from another coat of arms. Of course, it must be said that at the time Bishop Eckman assumed his own arms he could have no idea that one day he’d be named Bishop of Pittsburgh and impale his arms with those of the diocese. His personal arms, in my opinion, harmonizes nicely with the diocesan coat of arms making for a pleasing achievement.

NOTE: I have now been reliably informed that the bishop has, in fact, decided to slightly modify the fess in his personal arms so that it is identical to the one in the diocesan arms. So, problem solved!

Bishop Lewandowski, CSsR of Providence

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On May 20, the Most Rev. Bruce Lewandowski, CSsR (57), a Redemptorist and formerly Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore, will be installed as the 10th Bishop of Providence, R.I. I had previously written about the bishop’s coat of arms when he was first made Auxiliary Bishop.

Now that he is moving to become a diocesan bishop his armorial bearings will now be marshaled to those of his diocese. The Bishop had employed his sister, a Felician Sister who “works in media” for her Province to design his coat of arms. As they were back then, so too, are they something of a dumpster fire, heraldically speaking.

In an interview for The Catholic Review, the Baltimore archdiocesan newspaper, in 2020 the Bishop said, “Why would I ask anyone else?” when asked why his sister was designing his coat of arms. I think I can answer that. How about: in order to turn to someone with knowledge of a specific topic that isn’t really a DIY project? How about that? In her own part of the same interview, Sr. Lewandowski remarked about some of the particular elements of her design:

“The Holy Spirit is depicted as breaking the upper edge of the shield ‘as it is the privilege of the Holy Spirit to inspire new life and envision endless possibilities for the Church, God’s people,’ the description says. The designer noted that she was not sure if that was “allowed” but in her research she did not find any parameters that said it couldn’t be done that way.” (emphasis added)

All I can say is that must have been one quick and not very diligent Google search. Even the most cursory bit of online research should have clued her in to the fact that charges emerging through the edges of the field was a puerile and amateurish mistake. Quite frankly, I don’t see how she could have done any research and reached the conclusion that she did! There are numerous resources out there for someone unfamiliar with good heraldic practices, to say nothing of the huge online presence of groups and organizations that could have happily offered her assistance in her project.

But, this, instead, is the worst kind of so-called heraldry: heraldry as logo. (It summons up the bile just by thinking about it!).

In the same aforementioned article she said:

“…she believes a bishop’s coat of arms should tell people who he is and what he stands for. And I believe it should be a more spiritual piece, not just a historical piece,” she said. “And a lot of the coats of arms that I’ve seen and that I kind of read into, it’s a real historical document, but it doesn’t always tell you who the bishop is. She said she tried to tie in Bishop-designate Lewandowski’s spirituality into the symbols she used.”

Well, she got the first part right. A coat of arms should tell people who the armiger is. But, then she rode that right off the rails with the second part. A coat of arms does not tell people what the armiger stands for. It is for identification alone. I have often mentioned that a coat of arms is not one’s C.V. in pictures. Similarly, it isn’t an expression of personal ideology; a manifesto of one’s own spirituality or (for the clergy) a catechetical tool that expresses one’s personal beliefs as a kind of pictorial homily. Unfortunately, that’s precisely how the Lewandowski kids decided to view this project, with disastrous results.

In the latest rendering the overcrowded and poorly composed original coat of arms now falls victim to, perhaps, my second favorite pet peeve: they were changed in order to combine well with the diocesan arms. That’s not an option, full stop. (I suppose Sister didn’t find anything in her research that said she couldn’t do that either!) In addition, the charges form the personal arms are still going beyond the divisions and boundaries of the shield and/or spilling over from one impalement to the other. Clearly, this is also the classic mistake of thinking that the diocesan arms now somehow “become” part of the bishop’s coat of arms rather than being an example of two distinct and separate coats of arms marshaled together on one shield so as to express the relationship between the two!

The list of things wrong with this just goes on and on, and on…

Suffice it to say that he had a poorly designed coat of arms to begin with which would have and could have benefitted greatly from some expertise and advice from an organization, an individual, or even a decent book on the subject in order to take the elements and arrange and depict them according to good heraldic practices. Now, that poorly designed coat of arms has been badly modified and marshaled inexpertly to the point that the diocesan coat of arms of the See of Providence is depicted incorrectly!

EPIC FAIL!

But…what do you expect when a coat of arms is approached as an exercise in graphic design to tell us who the armiger really is? I’ll leave that question unanswered, thank you.

One of “The Quints” for Chicago

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On Wednesday, February 26 the Most Rev. Lawrence John Sullivan (59), a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago for the last 33 years, will be ordained as the Titular Bishop of Lamphua and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Bishop-Elect Sullivan is one of five new auxiliary bishops appointed for the archdiocese by Pope Francis.

The blazon of the arms is: Vert, between two bars in chief and in base, four fleurs-de-lis fess wise all Argent; on a chief wavy Or between two Tau crosses the winged head of the lion of St. Mark all Gules.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: ”Walk Humbly With God”.

The armorial bearings of Bishop Sullivan symbolize his birthplace, his personal devotions and the place in which he has spent his life and ministry as a priest.

The basic design of the field echoes the design on the flag of Chicago, his native place. The background color has been changed to green as a nod to the Irish heritage of the Bishop. The two blue bars and four red stars on the Chicago flag have been differenced here and changed to two silver (white) bars and four silver (white) fleurs-de-lis. These fleurs-de-lis represent multiple things. One fleur-de-lis is taken from the coat of arms of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin who ordained the Bishop a priest; the second is taken from the coat of arms of Blaise Cardinal Cupich who will be the principal consecrator ordaining him to the episcopacy; the third is from the coat of arms of Mundelein Seminary where he received his priestly formation; the fourth is not from a coat of arms but is a heraldic symbol of St. Joseph, the patron saint of his College Seminary. It goes without saying that the fleurs-de-lis also figure prominently in the coat of arms of the archdiocese of Chicago. So, the design combines symbols from the city and the archdiocese where Bishop Sullivan was born, grew up and has served as a priest and will now serve as a bishop. Lastly, the fleur-de-lis is, itself, a heraldic symbol of Our Lady.

The upper third of the shield, called a “chief” is separated from the rest of the field by a wavy line alluding to both Lake Michigan and the Chicago River. On this gold (yellow) chief are two red crosses in the famous Tau shape. These represent the Bishop’s devotion to St. Francis of Assisi. This shape of cross is associated with the saint because he himself used it. Whenever writing anything, St. Francis placed a Tau cross at the top of the page.

Between these two crosses is the haloed head and wings of the Lion of St. Mark also depicted in red. This magnificent creature is symbolic of St. Mark as referenced in the prophecy of Ezekiel 1-2 and also in the Book of Revelation. St. Mark is the Bishop’s favorite evangelist and he likes and is drawn to the very human side of Christ depicted so well in Mark’s gospel. In addition, in his own personal spirituality Bishop Sullivan feels we are called to see Christ present in the world and that we see this in others and we, too, are called to be that presence of Christ for others, revealing the face of God–the very human God in Christ– to them. The combination of the colors green, gold and red are also used on the national flag of Lithuania and so they are a recognition of the Bishop’s Lithuanian ancestry as well. 

The motto below the shield is “Walk Humbly With God”

The shield is also ensigned with those external ornaments that indicate the bearer is a bishop. The gold (yellow) episcopal cross, not to be confused with a processional cross, is placed vertically behind and extending above and below the shield. 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 Secretariat of State, “Ut Sive” of March, 1969.

It was my pleasure and my privilege to assist Bishop-Elect Sullivan with the creation of his coat of arms. I was responsible for the design and also provided the artwork.

New Bishop in Oslo

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The Most Rev. Frederik Hansen (45) was ordained a bishop on January 18 and became Coadjutor Bishop of Oslo, Norway with the automatic right of succession to Bishop Bernt Ivar Eidsvig, CRSA, who is currently 71. When he succeeds to the See, Bishop Hansen will be the 9th Bishop of Oslo.

In the interests of full disclosure, the new bishop, who spent some time working for the diplomatic corps of the Holy See and was in residence in a parish in my native diocese of Rockville Centre, NY contacted me upon his appointment to design his coat of arms. However, he later was informed that the diocese of Oslo had already secured the services of another heraldist, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta.

The Bishop’s arms are quartered with those of the Diocese of Oslo, somewhat unusually for someone who is not yet the diocesan bishop but more of a “diocesan bishop-in-waiting”. This will, of course, save him the trouble of having a new rendering made when the time comes that he succeeds to the See. nevertheless, it is unusual because he does not yet possess jurisdiction over the See.

For his personal arms, seen in the second and third quarters, the heraldic colors, blue and silver, are from Drammen’s city coat of arms. The “IHS” is the monogram of the name “Jesus” and points to Jesus’ holy name and Bishop Hansen’s devotion to “the name above all names” (Phil 2,9–10) which is given to mankind for salvation (see Acts 4,12). The open book refers to Bishop Hansen’s work in church administration and in priestly formation and teaching. The two croziers allude to two Norwegian saint-bishops: St. Torfinn, bishop of Hamar, and St. Eystein, Primate-Archbishop of Nidaros.

Despite not having worked on this project I’d say the bishop was in good hands and has achieved an excellent result (pun intended).

Cardinal McElroy Translated to Washington, DC

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Today, the Holy Father announced to transfer of Robert Cardinal McElroy (70), the Bishop of San Diego, to succeed Wilton Cardinal Gregory (77) as Metropolitan Archbishop of Washington, DC.

I did not design the Cardinal’s coat of arms but I did prepare the current emblazoning on his elevation to the College of Cardinals.

In addition to a new impalement and the addition of an archiepiscopal cross it will be interesting to see if the Cardinal modifies his personal arms at all. The two charges in chief represent two California historic Mission Churches in San Francisco (where he served as a priest) and in San Diego (where he has been serving as diocesan bishop).

Of course I’m no fan of bishops modifying their arms when they move but I could see how he might wish to eliminate these two very Californian references. On the other hand, they both also serve to honor the places of his origin and previous ministry. So, retaining them could also be a good thing. Time will tell.

Below is how his coat of arms may appear after he is installed in Washington:

Feast of St. Nicholas

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Some years back there was a discussion about the devisal of attributed arms for St. Nicholas of Myra (aka Santa Claus). My fellow heraldry enthusiast, Michael Quigley, proposed this design.

Attributed arms are created for individuals who didn’t bear a coat of arms themselves. Either, they are fictitious characters, they simply didn’t have a coat of arms or they may have lived prior to the development of heraldry.

St. Nicholas was definitely a real person but he lived from A.D. 270 – 343, roughly nine hundred years before heraldry existed.

This fanciful coat of arms employs an Eastern mitre and the traditional 3 gold coins associated with St. Nicholas from the story of him ransoming three children from being sold into slavery. It also uses deer (reindeer) supporters, fir twigs and the colors green and red so associated with the legend of Santa Claus and Western Christmas lore and custom.

December 6 is the feast of St. Nicholas.

Bishop Dennis Spies

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On November 6, 2024 the Most Rev. Dennis Spies, (56) a priest of the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois will be ordained as the Titular Bishop of Cenculiana and Auxiliary Bishop of Joliet. The Bishop-Elect’s appointment by the Pope was announced only on September 27 and he will very quickly be ordained to the office of bishop, well before Advent and the holiday season is upon us.

The armorial bearings he will be assuming are as follows:

The blazon of his coat of arms is: “Per saltire Or and Azure; overall two spears in saltire points upward tipped with fleurs-de-lis Counterchanged between, in chief and in base a heart facing the centerpoint Gules; and to dexter and sinister a garb of wheat, 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: “I Call You Friends”.

The main colors of the shield, blue & gold, are the colors primarily used in the coat of arms of the Diocese of Joliet. So, by means of their use the diocese the bishop has served as a priest (and now as a bishop) is alluded to. The shield is divided in a saltire (an “X” shape) and the two main charges are two spears crossed in saltire. The surname Spies is German in origin and in German and Dutch it is a metonymic occupational name for a spear maker. It is derived from Middle High German “spiez”, meaning ‘spear pike’ or an occupational name from the same word in the sense of a ‘soldier armed with a spear’. So, the two spears allude to the family name. They appear slightly different from the typical spear in that their heads, rather than depicting the usual blade, have heads that are shaped like the fleur-de-lis. This, too, is taken from the coat of arms of the Diocese of Joliet where two fleurs-de-lis appear. This is an ancient heraldic symbol of both the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Most Holy Trinity. Counterchanging (where the color of an object and the background are alternated) serves as a symbol of conversion…the daily conversion to which we are all called as followers of Christ.

Above and below are two red hearts symbolizing the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The hearts are depicted with their points toward the center of the shield. The two hearts–in a sense–“facing each other” symbolize the love that God has for all His creation and the love that His children return to Him by their faith and devotion. Love is both given and received. The disposition of the hearts indicates this.

A heart shape, although with different symbolism, also appears in the coat of arms of Bishop Hicks, the Diocesan Bishop whose ministry Bishop Spies will assist and support. It is an old custom in heraldry to borrow a charge from the coat of arms of a superior or patron as a way of honoring them. So, the heart shape being repeated in the coat of arms of Bishop Spies honors this custom.

To the left and right are two gold (yellow) garbs of wheat. The garbs of wheat are symbolic of agriculture generally and the Bishop grew up on a farm. In addition, they are also symbolic of the Eucharist, the center of our lives as Christians. So, they are a fitting symbol of both his background and his faith.

The motto below the shield is, “I Call You Friends” from John 15:15 where Jesus says, “I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I call you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.”

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 second 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 Secretariat of State, “Ut Sive” of March, 1969.

It was my great privilege and pleasure to work with Bishop Spies on the design and execution of his armorial bearings and also preparing the blazon and explanation.

Archbishop Henning of Boston

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It has been very gratifying as a heraldist to have one project that I have been able to stay with through all its permutations. On October 31, the Most Rev. Richard G. Henning (60) who has served for the last 17 months as Bishop of Providence, R.I. and who was also Coadjutor of Providence for a further four months before that, and who was previously Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre, N.Y., his native diocese where he became a priest in 1992, will be installed as the 10th Bishop and 7th Metropolitan Archbishop of the See of Boston, Massachusetts.

Back in 2018, the then Bishop-elect Henning contacted me to design a coat of arms for him. That’s not an unusual thing for me (I have designed coats of arms for three other bishops from Rockville Centre) but this one was more personal. I’m also a Long Island native and Archbishop Henning and I attended the same high school, Chaminade in Mineola, and we graduated together in the class of 1982. While not close friends, we have been acquainted with one another since we were teenagers. I was very happy to design his coat of arms for him. He entered the task with great enthusiasm and I think the coat of arms that we ended up with was simple, bold and very clear, all marks of good heraldry. On a personal not: at his episcopal ordination which I attended, the new Bishop, in his post-Communion remarks, thanked me publicly for assisting him in preparing his coat of arms. As I told him afterwards, that was very gratifying because in 39 years of doing this kind of work no bishop had ever done that before. I think it speaks volumes about what kind of person he is.

In late 2022 after he received the news of his appointment as Coadjutor of Providence I actually reached out to him to let him know that, as a Coadjutor, his coat of arms wouldn’t need any changes but that at some point in the future when he succeeded to the See, he’d have to modify his arms by marshaling them to the arms of the Diocese of Providence. He then asked me to begin on that right away because it was not certain when his succession would occur and he wanted to be prepared for that eventuality. I also thought that was “done and dusted” as they say and he was now set for the rest of his life.

However, in August of this year I was surprised and delighted to hear that the Holy Father had appointed him Archbishop of Boston. For the third time he contacted me. He said that several people in Boston assisting him with the needs of his transition had proposed people to prepare his coat of arms. But, he politely declined all those and said that he already had someone in mind. Again, I was really very pleased and honored at that. I see my designs as sort of my intellectual property. True, the coat of arms, once designed, is given over to the armiger to whom it truly belongs, but I feel like I still have a stake in it. So, I was very glad that I’d be able to assist Archbishop Henning yet again.

He retains the arms he first assumed in 2018. For this version, the escallop shell has been redrawn to a slightly more round shape and the bordure wavy has been slightly reduced in order to make more room for the shell which now occupies a much smaller field on one half of the shield. This is impaled with the arms of the See of Boston, designed by the great Dom Wilfrid Bayne, OSB of Portsmouth Abbey, R.I. in 1944. Because of the preponderance of blue in both coats of arms, the division line between the two is rendered in dark blue. It was decided that a black line looked a bit too jarring and the solution used for the same problem with the arms of the See of Providence which also has a blue field—a light, “bleu celeste” line—was seen as undesirable this time around. The blazon and explanation of the arms is as follows:

“BLAZON: Arms impaled. In the dexter: Azure, a Latin cross fleurettée Or, in base barry wavy of five Azure and Argent, issuing therefrom a mound of three coupeaux Or; In the sinister: Azure, within a bordure wavy parted wavy Argent and Gules an escallop shell Argent. The shield is ensigned with an archiepiscopal cross Or and an archbishop’s galero with cords and twenty tassels flanking the shield disposed in four rows of one, two, three and four all Vert. On a scroll below the shield is the motto, “Put Out Into The Deep”.

EXPLANATION: The armorial bearings of Archbishop Richard Henning impale the coat of arms of his archiepiscopal See with his personal coat of arms. These evoke his birthplace, his ministry and his personal devotion. The coat of arms is composed of a shield with its charges (symbols), a motto and the external ornamentation. The shield is described (blazoned) in terms that are archaic to our modern language, and this description is presented as if given by the bearer with the shield being worn on the arm. Thus, where it applies, the terms dexter (right)  and sinister (left) are reversed as the device is viewed from the front.

It is customary in heraldry that the arms of a Diocesan Bishop, or Ordinary, are joined side by side on the same shield with the arms of his See. In this case, these are the arms of the Archdiocese of Boston. Such marshaling is called impalement and employs the same method used when joining the coats of arms of two people who are married. In this way, the coat of arms, like the episcopal ring, is symbolic of the archbishop being “married” to his archdiocese.

The arms of the Archdiocese of Boston are composed of a blue field on which are placed a gold (yellow) cross fleurettée, that is a Latin cross the arms of which are decorated on the ends with fleurs-de-lis. This is in honor of the titular of the cathedral, the Holy Cross as well as the  first Bishop of Boston being from France. The cross is above a gold (yellow) mound composed of three smaller hills as a reference to Boston’s original name: Trimountaine which is, itself, a reference to the three hills on which the city is said to have been built. At the bottom the five wavy lines of blue and silver (white) alludes to Boston being a port city and that it is populated by people who arrived here from across the sea.

Bishop Henning’s personal coat of arms is composed of a design depicted in red (Gules), white (Argent) and blue (Azure) which are the national colors of the United States.

Both the blue background and the single escallop shell allude to the sea as evoking the Bishop’s own background and the shell is also borrowed from the coat of arms of the See of Rockville Centre, the diocese in which he was born and raised and which he served as a priest and auxiliary bishop. In addition, this same field of blue also recalls the blue field of the coat of arms of the See of Providence where he served as Coadjutor Bishop and later Diocesan Bishop. The shell image also recalls the Bishop’s heritage in the Diocese of Brooklyn, dedicated to its patron, St. James. The episcopal ordination of Bishop Henning took place on the eve of the Feast of St. James. In concert with the Bishop’s motto, the shell is a traditional symbol of baptism and pilgrimage. It is in the depths of these waters that Christians find their salvation in Jesus Christ.

The white wavy line surrounding the blue field is also taken from the arms of Rockville Centre and it alludes to the diocese’s location on Long Island, NY. Furthermore, it indicates the sea as the place where the barque of St. Peter, an image used to evoke the Church, is located.

The blue background also evokes the Bishop’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his years of service as a Professor and Rector at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, NY. The red wavy portion of the border evokes the Bishop’s devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and his former service as the Director of the Sacred Heart Institute for the Ongoing Formation of the Catholic Clergy.”

It was, indeed, my profound pleasure , and my honor, once again to assist my old classmate, Archbishop Henning, with the preparation of his coat of arms.

Remembering 9/11

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Even in the world of ecclesiastical heraldry the horrible events of 9/11/2001 are commemorated. The Most Rev. Josu Iriondo, Auxiliary Bishop of New York, was ordained a bishop late in 2001 during the aftermath of that horrible terrorist attack on the city. A well-known cross formed by the intersection of two steel I-beams in the wreckage of the twin towers made up the principal charge in his assumed coat of arms.

May we always remember the tragic loss of innocent lives in that fateful day.

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.

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.

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.