Category Archives: Churches and Abbeys

Abbot Paul Sheller, OSB

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On Saturday, July 11, 2026, the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey, in Conception, Missouri, elected Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB, (44) as their new abbot. He becomes the 11th abbot in Conception Abbey’s 153-year history. He received the abbatial blessing at Mass on August 30th.

Abbot Paul’s armorial achievement displays the personal arms impaled with Conception Abbey’s coat of arms. His personal arms refer to both his patron saint’s attributes and the shells in bordure are canting charges for his surname.

The blazon is: Arms impaled. In the dexter Azure, in chief a star of eight points Or ensigned with the letter “M” Sable above three fleur-de-lis arranged two and one, Argent. (Conception Abbey) In the sinister Gules, a sword palewise point upwards with a laurel wreath surrounding the pommel within a bordure of escallop shells, all Or. (Abbot Paul Sheller).

The Abbot will also occasionally make use of his personal arms alone, which has the advantage of displaying the full bordure of shells due to the lack of an impalement.

The coat of arms was designed and executed by Fr. Pachomius Meade, OSB, a monk of Conception Abbey.

Bishop Mullen of Belleville

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On May 1, the Most Reverend Godfrey Mullen, OSB (60) a Benedictine monk of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, as well as the Diocesan Administrator and former Vicar General of the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, of which he is also a native son, was ordained a bishop and installed as the 10th Bishop of Belleville. The arms he assumed are pictured above.

For some time now, since his episcopal ordination and installation in May a number of people have asked for my comments on his coat of arms. I was privileged to design the armorial bearings of his immediate predecessor, Bishop Michael McGovern who is now the Archbishop of Omaha. I had wondered if, perhaps, Bishop Mullen would ask for my help with his coat of arms but he is certainly under no obligation to do so. In the end, I was disappointed he didn’t ask for my help when I saw what he ended up with. On the other hand, this also allows me to comment freely without being accused of “sour grapes”.

To use an expression that I haven’t had occasion to use since the ill-conceived and disastrous revamping of the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Detroit (now happily abandoned) this coat of arms represents an EPIC FAIL.

I have no issue with the artwork, and I take no interest in critiquing the arms of the See of Belleville. My reaction is to the Bishop’s personal arms alone. Much of what he wanted to do is good and even correct. He kept the color scheme simple. He wanted an overall design that reflects his Benedictine background. He also managed to symbolize his family. The crescent and olive branch on the chief are from the arms associated with his family name and from the Jubilee Medal of St. Benedict, respectively. The olive branch also alludes to the city of Salem (which means “peace”) and the crescent is also an allusion to Our Lady. So, too, he does something very nice by having charges represent more than one thing keeping the arms from being too crowded. One thing that often goes overlooked in heraldic design, however, is the desirability of symmetry as well as the need to avoid asymmetry whenever possible. Perhaps the crescent flanked by two olive branches would have solved that better? As it is now the charges look as though they have just been randomly thrown onto the chief.

The two ravens also make good sense. Both St. Benedict (the founder of the Order) and St. Meinrad (the patron saint of the Archabbey) had ravens and the birds are generally seen as a symbol of both saints. In fact, the arms of the Archabbey contains ravens. So, perhaps, one would think, that would have been enough. Here is where we come to the biggest problem. Namely, the pictorial depiction of the Archabbey church.

To oversimplify the issue I’ll say plainly: coats of arms contain symbols, not pictures. What the bishop (or whoever advised him on this design) has done is simply to use the line drawing of the church that is the Archabbey’s current letterhead and colored it and slapped it onto his shield. This is the antithesis of heraldic design. The insipid line drawing is a nightmare to reproduce because of the abundance of detail, it’s inappropriate as a heraldic charge, and it makes for a coat of arms difficult to discern when seen in reduced format…as coats of arms so very frequently are. Using a symbol of St. Meinrad as he has already done is sufficient. Borrowing a charge or charges from the coat of arms of the Archabbey is a great idea with ample precedent in heraldic art and design. Even if the bishop strongly desired to use the Archabbey church as a symbol it would have been far better to depict one of the Archabbey’s distinctive towers or perhaps a rendition of its rose window. But, to simply reproduce in full a drawing of the Archabbey church used on letterhead—a drawing that was clearly made from a photograph as is evidenced by the inclusion of the trees, path and grounds surrounding it— is ridiculous and just plain WRONG!

It’s a shame really. This coat of arms had the potential to be a rather decent one and then the inclusion of that picture ruins the whole thing. How many times do I have to say that heraldry is both a science and an art form all its own, with its own rules, traditions, conventions and customs. You cannot simply have “whatever you want”, slap it onto a shield and call it heraldry. There are ways to design a good coat of arms. This coat of arms is not an example of those ways. At one point the description of the coat of arms says, “The cleft hill at the base continues from the hill of the diocesan crest. The bishop is a son of the diocese, but also a son of Saint Meinrad…”. Again, a clever idea to try and allude to both the diocese and the Archabbey, however, the design doesn’t “continue” from one side of the shield to the other. Impaled arms are a form of marshaling that dispalys two separate coats of arms on a single shield. The diocesan coat of arms doesn’t “become” part of the bishop’s coat of arms; it is displayed next to it.

Finally, to feed into another pet peeve of mine the episcopal cross in this achievement is also personalized…as though that’s an option. The explanation says,  “The cross atop the shield is modeled on the cross depicted in the Benedictine Jubilee medal”. Isn’t that just so lovely? The problem is twofold. The cross isn’t “atop” the shield. It is standing behind it, as in, it is an external ornament. The second problem is that such a cross is a symbol of the episcopal office and as such is not subject to being depicted in a particular way according to the fancy of the armiger (or the designer). Let me be clear: any individual rendering of the Bishop’s coat of arms may, of course, depict the episcopal cross in a certain way, in this case in the manner of the cross of the Jubilee Medal. However, that is not obligatory. Other artists do not have to depict it that way and the blazon may not specify it. It isn’t an option to dictate the appearance of the external ornaments. The armiger has control over what goes ON the shield only; not what appears around it.

So, since people have been wondering what I thought of this heraldic achievement I have now said. I think it’s very disappointing because it had such potential. It could have been so much better. What is wrong with it betrays an amateurish style. One wonders if the bishop wouldn’t have been far better served by consulting with someone who knew something about how properly to design a coat of arms? A little more direction and this could have been salvaged.

Parish of St. Matthew

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I recently was commissioned to design a coat of arms for the Parish of St. Matthew in Flint, Michigan.

BLAZON:Quarterly, the horizontal line wavy, Azure and Argent overall a cross moline quartered and Counterchanged;  in the first and fourth quarter a mullet of six points Or; in the second and third quarter a money bag Gules bound Or.

EXPLANATION: The armorial bearings of the Parish of Saint Matthew, Flint, Michigan in the Diocese of Lansing reflect its location and it titular patron saint. The cross is not only the symbol of our faith and of the center of activity in any parish but in this form is borrowed from the diocesan coat of arms to indicate the parish is located in that diocese. The horizontal division line has been made wavy as a reference to the Flint River, and so as a reference to the city in which the parish is located. The money bags are a symbol of the parish’s patron, St. Matthew who was a tax collector before he became a disciple. The six-pointed star is from the arms of St. Pius X who was pope at the time the parish was erected. In addition, part of the former parish of St. Pius X has been incorporated into the parish of St. Matthew, so it alludes to that as well.

The blue and white motif from the diocesan coat of arms predominates throughout. The money bags are red to recall St. Matthew’s martyrdom. By means of these symbols the coat of arms of the parish alludes to both its patron and the local church in which it is located.

Arms for a Basilica

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The Mission Church of San Diego (St. Didacus) de Alcalá was the second Spanish Mission church founded in 1769 by St. Junípero Serra. The present (5th) church building was designated a Minor Basilica by St. Paul VI in 1976. Going without any armorial bearings of its own for several decades I was approached some time ago by one of the priests of the Mission basilica to design a coat of arms for the church. This was done with the approval of the (then) Bishop of San Diego, Robert Cardinal McElroy, now the Metropolitan Archbishop of Washington, DC.

The blazon of the coat of arms is: Gules, a cross formy throughout Or charged with five gouttes de sang at the center point and extremities; between in the dexter chief quarter a Spanish stew pot Argent; in the sinister base quarter a fleur-de-lis Argent and in the other quarters an acorn slipped Or. The shield is ensigned with the ornaments of a Minor Basilica which are, two keys crossed in saltire behind the shield to dexter Argent and to sinister Or, and an ombrellino Proper standing behind the shield.

The basic design borrows, and reverses the colors from the coat of arms of the Diocese of San Diego. Instead of a gold (yellow) field with a red cross there is now a red field with a gold cross. The cross, which has slightly flared ends, is charged with five drops of blood. These represent the founder of the Mission, Junípero Serra, who was a Franciscan friar. So, the five drops recall the five wounds of the stigmata received by St. Francis of Assisi. Serra, the founder of the Mission, is symbolized by making a  reference to the Order to which he (and San Diego) belonged. That also honors all the other Franciscan missionaries who carried on the work at the Mission throughout the centuries. In addition, the present Mission church–the one designated a basilica–is the fifth church building used by the Mission. So, the five drops of blood also allude to the basilica itself being the fifth building in use as a church.

In the upper left corner is the pot that is a symbol of San Diego (St. Didacus), the patron of the Mission Basilica (as well as the diocese). As a Franciscan brother he was a selfless servant of the poor and was known to heal the sick with the Sign of the Cross, the central charge, and the Spanish stew pot in the upper left also symbolizes him. It indicates Diego’s boundless charity and tireless efforts to feed the hungry. In the lower right corner we see a fleur-de-lis which is borrowed from the coat of arms of St. Paul VI, the pope who raised the Mission church to the rank of Minor Basilica in 1976. Both of these are silver (off-white). 

The other two quadrants are charged with a gold (yellow) acorn. This is to give the Native Americans, who received the Gospel from the Franciscans and became their collaborators throughout the Mission era, representation on the coat-of-arms. It is a symbol of the agrarian traditions of the Native Americans, and also represents the potential for spiritual growth and transformation. Just as an acorn can grow into a mighty oak tree, it represents the idea that even small acts of faith and virtue can lead to great spiritual maturity and strength. This aligns with the Catholic teaching on the importance of nurturing one’s faith and virtues over time and refers to the Mission’s humble beginnings and growth. In addition, the acorn’s humble beginnings remind Catholics of the virtues of humility and simplicity. These qualities are highly valued in Catholic teachings, as exemplified by the lives of saints, such as St. Francis, St. Didacus, St. Junipero Serra, and the Franciscan Padres who often started with humble beginnings and grew in holiness and influence through their faith and actions. The acorn also symbolizes God’s provision and sustenance as a reminder of His care and providence, ensuring that His creation is provided for.

The external ornaments are the two crossed keys (one gold and one silver) bound together by a red cord and the ombrellino. The keys are an ornament granted to basilica churches to show their connection to the Holy See. They are the same as the keys seen in the coat of arms of the Holy See and of the Pope, recalling the “keys to the kingdom” given by Christ to St. Peter; one to bind and one to loosen. The ombrellino, a large red and gold canopy, is also a symbol of the Holy See and used as a symbol of such whenever the See is vacant. It also used to be employed as a symbol of papal administration in the time of the Papal States. Originally, it was a ceremonial canopy carried in procession to cover a dignitary such as the pope while walking or riding in a cavalcade. It is primarily symbolic now but all basilica churches are expected to have one which is to be carried in procession in the event of a papal visit. 

This was a fun and interesting project which I completed, coincidentally, on the same day that the Pope appointed a new Bishop of San Diego to succeed Cardinal McElroy.