The Most Rev. Stephen J. Lopes, the newly appointed Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter (for former Anglicans living in the USA) will be ordained on February 2. He is the second Ordinary but the first one who is not a former Anglican himself and the first who will hold the rank of bishop.
(artwork by Marco Foppoli)
On July 13 the Most Rev. Edward Malesic, a priest of the Harrisburg, PA diocese will be ordained and installed as the fifth bishop of Greensburg, Pennsylvania at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg.
his newly assumed coat of arms is:
The explanation of the arms (provided by the diocese) is:
“The color of the field is BLUE (azure), the color of the sky, which symbolizes the direction of the soul’s ascent toward God and away from worldly values, therefore, the color represents the path set by the spiritual virtues, raising a person from the things of the earth toward the incorruptibility of heaven.
The CHEVRON is a heraldic device best described as an inverted “V” and is one of the most ancient figures in heraldry. Frequently, in Roman Catholic Church heraldry, it signifies the rafter which supports the roof of the church as a source of protection for the community of faith gathered under it. The THREE SHAMROCKS represent the Cathedral in Harrisburg, dedicated to St. Patrick, where Bishop Malesic was ordained to the priesthood by the imposition of the hands of Cardinal William H. Keeler, at that time Bishop of Harrisburg. The CHEVRON is in SILVER (argent), the color of transparency, also of truth and justice, fundamental requirements of the Bishop’s pastoral service.
The CROWN above the chevron is the symbol of Bishop Malesic’s given name, after St. Edward “The Confessor” (d.1066), King of England who gave witness to his Catholic faith through his life. The crown also recalls Mary, Queen of the Apostles, upon whose intercession Bishop Malesic relies.
The LINDEN TREE below the chevron expresses the Slovenian heritage of Bishop Malesic’s father. The linden tree is considered the national tree of Slovenia and is also a symbol of joy and safety. The community often gathered under the shade of the linden tree for fellowship and community discussions.”
The bishops of Greensburg have a pretty good tradition of having simple, well-designed coats of arms. Bishop Malesic is no exception. While he has still given in slightly to the “coat of arms as pictorial CV” school of heraldry it isn’t too bad and he’s far from the only American bishop to do so. I think that overall the design is clear, well done and blends well with the arms of the diocese. My only criticism, and it is a small one, is that the two crosses in chief in the arms of the diocese are incorrect. They should be patteé formeé, that is to say they should look like two round gold balls formed into crosses. This is because they are taken from the two identical crosses in the arms of the see of Pittsburgh, from which Greensburg was separated, where, in turn, they were derived from the gold bezants in the arms of William Pitt but turned into crosses to difference them. These crosses do not in any way resemble gold balls.
The personal arms of of Bishop Malesic were designed and rendered impaled with those of the diocese by Renato Poletti.
On Thursday, June 4, the Most Rev. John C. Wester, formerly Bishop of Salt Lake City, Utah and prior to that Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco, will be installed as the Twelfth Archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico. His personal arms, assumed at the time of his episcopal ordination in San Francisco, are now marshaled to those of the venerable Archdiocese of Santa Fe the arms of which allude to both Spain and to the titular patron of its cathedral church: St. Francis of Assisi.
The artwork for the coat of arms (below) is by Deacon Paul Sullivan.
On March 3, the Most Rev. Daniel Elias Garcia was ordained as Titular Bishop of Capsus and Auxiliary Bishop of Austin, Texas. His adopted coat of arms (below) depicts his devotion to Our Lady (the roses), baptism (the shell), the Colorado River and Christ who is the First and the Last.
Dividing the field into two colors (green and gold) by a blue line isn’t really the best design choice. It would have been better if the whole field were gold. In addition, the description of the arms from the ordination program describes the “processional cross” as being in the form of a Jerusalem cross for apparently no reason. First of all it is not a processional cross. The external ornament in a bishop’s coat of arms more than any other that marks it as the coat of arms of a bishop (even more than a mitre or a galero) is the episcopal cross that stands vertically behind the shield. This type of cross, which resembles a processional cross, used to be carried directly in front of a bishop. Like the galero, also no longer in use, such episcopal crosses are no longer used but are retained as not only one of but actually as THE ensign of the coat of arms of a bishop. The galero is optional; the cross isn’t.
Second, it is not permitted to mandate that an external ornament like the episcopal cross, be depicted in a certain shape or style. The blazon concerns itself only with what is on the shield. That may indeed be mandated to be depicted in a particular way. No other artist is bound to depict the episcopal cross of Bp. Garcia’s arms as a Jerusalem cross. It may be his preference but it is not one to which others must adhere.
Previously, I have written about the coat of arms of Reginald Cardinal Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Deacon of Ss. Nereus & Achilleus (1536), Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria in Cosmedin (1556) and Lagatus Natus. Here is another image of his rather elaborate arms.
On January 29 Bishop Christopher Coyne, until now Auxiliary Bishop of Indianapolis and before that a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, will be installed as the 10th Bishop of Burlington, Vermont.
The dexter side of the shield (to the viewer’s left), represents the coat of arms of the Diocese of Burlington and is composed of a green field, which meets a gold chief (upper one-third of the design) at a jagged line, called “dancetty,” to give the impression of green mountain peaks, thus honoring the Green Mountain State of Vermont. Below the mountain is a golden stag’s head that is taken from the arms of Lord Cavendish, Earl of Burlington, for whom the See City is named. Between the stag’s antlers, as seen in the arms of the Archdiocese of Boston, is a golden cross fleuretty. This cross, honoring the French missionaries who first brought The Faith to the region, signifies that the first priest to be stationed in the service of the people of Vermont, Father Jeremiah O’Callaghan, was sent by Boston Bishop Benedict Fenwick.
The sinister side (to the viewers right) ‘s occupied by the personal heraldry of Bishop Coyne; upon a blue (azure) field is Bishop Coyne’s coat of arms which blends images representing his love for God, family genealogy and ministry history in the Archdiocese of Boston.
Bishop Coyne’s grandfathers were Irish and his grandmothers were French. The coat of arms reflects those two heritages with the Celtic cross and the fleur de lis. The Celtic cross also calls to mind the centrality of the cross in the history of salvation and the sacrifice of Jesus which brings redemption. The fleur de lis also represent Mary, the Mother of our Savior, and Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse. Finally, the blue (azure) field also calls to mind Mary, the Immaculate Conception, under whose patronage the Diocese of Burlington has been placed.
On January 6, 2015 the Most Rev. Donald J. Hying, a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, former Rector of the seminary there and, since 2011, Auxiliary Bishop of Milwaukee will be installed as the IV Bishop of the diocese of Gary, Indiana.
The Bishop’s coat of arms (above) depicting the arms of the See (dexter) which allude to the titular patron of the cathedral of the Holy Angels and his personal arms (sinister) which allude, in part, to the arms of the See of Milwaukee.
The motto translates to “Love never fails”. (1 Cor: 13)
(artwork by Paul Sullivan)
Wishing all of you and yours a New Year filled with peace, health and happiness!
Each year at this time I always seem to get involved in a conversation with at least one other heraldry enthusiast about coats of arms associated with Christmas or the Christmas season. Here are a few tidbits I offer for your amusement. (Keep in mind the ancient custom of attributed arms, that is, coats of arms attributed to people who were not necessarily armigerous themselves, especially if they lived prior to the advent of heraldry and/or coats of arms devised for and attributed to people who may or may not be fictitious!)
Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas)
Here is a a coat of arms recently devised by a friend for St. Nicholas
Here is another said to be of “Father Christmas”
The Three Wise Men (or Kings)
The arms attributed to Kaspar, Balthasaar and Melchior (depicted beautifully by the Italian heraldic artist, Marco Foppoli)
The Blessed Virgin Mary
A coat of arms attributed to the Mother of Jesus, Mary
Jesus (you know…the One whose birthday we’re celebrating?)
This is just one of many different attributed arms for Jesus, the Christ depicting the implements of His passion.
The Holy Family
A wonderful Christmas scene showing all the principal armigerous figures of the story of the Nativity with their corresponding attributed arms. (by daSilva)
Above is the coat of arms of the newly ordained and installed Chad Zielinski who, on December 15, became the 5th bishop of Fairbanks, Alaska. This diocese covers the largest territory of any single diocese in the USA and cover all of northern Alaska.
On December 17 Mark Stuart edwards, OMI will be ordained (along with Terence Curtin) as auxiliary bishop of Melbourne, Australia. Bishop Edwards is also the Titular Bishop of Garba.
His newly assumed arms (above) reflect his baptismal patron, St. Mark, as well as the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the Religious community to which he belongs. In addition, Our Lady and Australia are alluded to on the chief.
These arms were designed by me and Mr. Richard d’Apice of the Australian Heraldry Society and emblazoned by Sandy Turnbull also of the Australian Heraldry Society.
The Broken Bay diocesan Arms display a lighthouse spreading the light of the gospel over the diocese. The detail echoes the detail of the Barrenjoey lighthouse which unites the two main land masses that comprise the regions of the diocese.
The arms and motto which Bishop Comensoli adopted at the time he was named Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney in 2011 are of a personal character and are blazoned: Azure, on a Latin cross inverted Or four seven-pointed mullets (or Commonwealth stars) Gules, in the first quarter a lion’s head erased Argent crined and langued Or and in the second a unicorn’s head erased Argent crined and armed Or respectant.
In layman’s terms, the arms may be described as: On a blue field, a gold cross inverted with a red seven-pointed (or Commonwealth) star at each extremity, in the upper left quarter, a silver lion’s head erased at the neck with gold mane and tongue and in the upper right quarter a silver unicorn’s head erased at the neck with gold mane and horn. The motto ‘Praedicamus Christum Crucifixum’ is a quotation from the Apostle Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians (1Cor1.23), and can be translated as ‘We preach Christ crucified’.
The inverted Latin Cross symbolises the Bishop’s nominal patron, the Apostle Peter and the stars reflect the Southern Cross, which shines out over the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit. The lion and the unicorn respectively symbolise the mind and the heart of love. The meaning of these symbols, while of medieval provenance, is especially associated with the seminal work on Christian love by the English Jesuit, Martin C D’Arcy SJ, “The Mind and Heart of Love: Lion and Unicorn: A Study in Eros and Agape”. Bishop Comensoli will be installed as the Third Bishop of Broken Bay on Dec. 12.
The personal arms were designed by me and Mr. Richard d’Apice of the Australian Heraldry Society and originally emblazoned as well as marshaled with the arms of the diocese and emblazoned again by Mr. Sandy Turnbull also of the Australian Heraldry Society.
With the recent installation of the IX archbishop of Sydney Australia, The Most Rev. Anthony Fisher, OP several have asked about the arms of the other archbishops, five of whom have also been cardinals. Here they are:
1. Bede (John) Polding, OSB
2. Bede (Roger) Vaughan, OSB
3. Patrick Francis Cardinal Moran
4. Michael Kelly
5. Norman Thomas Cardinal Gilroy, KBE
6. James Darcy Cardinal Freeman, KBE
7. Edward Bede Cardinal Clancy
8. George Cardinal Pell, AC
9. Anthony Colin Fisher, OP
I have already written about the coat of arms of Archbishop Blase Cupich who will be installed today as the Archbishop of Chicago. Not only has the Archbishop modified his coat of arms when he moved from Rapid City to Spokane and again from Spokane to Chicago now he is also employing a new rendering of the coat of arms done by someone other than Paul Sullivan (below). May the Archbishop’s tenure in Chicago be a spiritually fruitful and successful one.
Since these have been so well received I thought I would share some more of my favorites from among those Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church who were from well known armigerous and noble aristocratic families.
First we see the arms of Johann Theodor Cardinal Wittelsbach von Bayern, Cardinal Priest of S. Lorenzo in Panisperna. He was created cardinal “in pectore” in 1743 and proclaimed in 1746. He was also Prince-Bishop of Liège, Friesing & Regensburg. The arms are:
Quarterly of six; 1 (Friesing) Or a moor’s head Sable couped at the neck crowned and collared Gules, 2 (Regensburg) Gules a bend Argent, 3 to 6 (Liège) Gules a column Argent, Gules a fess Argent, Argent three lions rampant vert, Barry Or and Gules a point in point Or three hunting horns Azure; Overall on an escutcheon Bavaria (fussily in bend Argent and Azure) quartering Palatinate (Sable a lion rampant Or). The supporters are two lions Or.
Next are the arms of Luis Antonio Jaime de Borbón y Farnesio, de Baviera y d’Este who was born the youngest son of King Philip V, King of Spain, and his second wife, Elizabeth Farnese. While barely eight years of age, Luis was created 699th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1735 and ordained Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain on 9 September 1735, and subsequently named Cardinal Deacon of the Title of the church of Santa Maria della Scala in Rome on 19 December. On 18 December 1754 he abandoned the ecclesiastical life for lack of vocation, renounced his ecclesiastical titles and dignities and assumed the title of 13th Conde de Chinchón granted by his brother Infante Felipe.
When his older half-brother King Ferdinand VI died without issue in 1759, Luis claimed the throne on the grounds that, he was the only surviving son of Philip V who was born in Spain, and the only one still residing in Spain (his older brothers were Charles, King of Naples and Sicily, and Philip, Duke of Parma, both reigning in Italy). However valid his claim, Luis lost the succession to his oldest brother Charles, while Charles’ third son became Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies.
The arms are: Quarterly 1: (Castile) Gules a triple towered castle Or quartering (Leon) Argent a lion rampant Purpure; 2: (Argaon) Or five pallets Gules impaling (Sicily) Per saltire Aragon and Argent two eagles in fess displayed Sable; a point in point between the two quarters of (Granada) Argent a pomegranate Proper; 3: Per fess (Austria) Gules a fess Argent and (Burgundy ancient) bendy Or and Azure, a border Gules; 4: Per fess (Burgundy modern) Azure, semeé de lis Or, a border compony Argent and Gules and (Brabant) Sable a lion rampant Or; two inescutcheon in pale the first (Bourbon) Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or, a bordure Gules; the second tierces in pale (Visconti) Argent a viper vorant Azure crowned Or and devouring a child Gules; (Flanders) Or a lion rampant Sable membered Gules, And (Tyrol) Argent, an eagle displayed Gules.
This cardinal, because of his failed claim to the throne, could also be numbered among the “royal” cardinals as well.
(artwork by the late Michael McCarthy)
Back in October of last year I posted about a Cardinal who was also the King of Portugal. He wasn’t alone in the College of Cardinals. In addition to numerous noblemen there have been other royal Cardinals as well. Below we see two more.
Casimir of Poland who was named a cardinal in 1646 but resigned from the College of Cardinals in 1648 to assume the throne as Jan II Casimir, King of Poland. His arms depict what was then the arms of Poland, namely:
Quarterly 1&4 Gules, an eagle displayed Argent membered and armed Or; 2&3 Gules a knight on horseback (Vytautas) Argent saddled Azure holding a shield Azure charged with a double-barred cross Or. Overall an escutcheon bearing Sweden: A cross patteé throughout Or between 1&4 Azure three crowns Or; 2&3 bendy sinister Argent an Azure overall a lion rampant Or; on an escutcheon in pretense per bend wise Azure, Argent, Gules all charged a Vasa Or.
Next is the possibly familiar arms of Henry Cardinal Stuart, acknowledged by many to be the legitimate heir to the English crown as Henry IX. Henry Benedict Mary Clement Stuart was the Duke of York as well as the Cardinal Priest of S. Maria in Portico. He was later made Bishop of Frascati, Bishop of Ostia & Velletri in 1803. He died in 1807 never having taken his rightful place on the throne of Great Britain & Ireland. His arms were the royal arms of the Stuarts, namely:
Quarterly 1&4 Grand Quarters (England & France) 1&4 Azure three fleur-de-lis Or and 2&3 Gules three lions passant guardant Or; 2 (Scotland) Or a lion rampant Gules armed Azure within a double treasure flory counter flory Gules; 3 (Ireland) Azure a harp Or. The arms are supported by the lion of England and the unicorn of Scotland, royal supporters since the time of James I. The arms usually depicts the cadence mark of a silver crescent at the center but this was omitted after he assumed the title Henry IX as Pretender to the throne. This version also include the royal crown rather than a ducal coronet.
(all artwork by the late Michael McCarthy)
Here we have two examples of the arms that became well known in Europe as being associated with territories or noble families being employed by members of the hierarchy, Cardinals to be exact, in their ecclesiastical achievements. The first is of Innio de Avalos de Aragon Cardinal Deacon of S. Lucia in Silice. He was Bishop of Sabina in 1586, Bishop of Frascati in 1589 and Bishop of Porto in 1591. The arms are:
Quarterly, 1&4 per pale Aragon, Hungary, Anjou (ancient) and Jerusalem; 2&3 Grand Quarterly 1&4 Azure, a triple towered castle Or, a bordure compony Argent & Gules; 2&3 Bendy Or and Gules quartering per fess Or and Gules a lion rampant Counterchanged.
The next one is the arms of Damian Hugo Philip von Schönborn, Cardinal Deacon of S. Nicolo in Carcere, Prince-Bishop of Speyer. The arms are:
Speyer (Quarterly 1&4 Azure a cross throughout Argent; 2&3 Gules a crozier in bend Or debruised by a two towered castle Or) overall on an escutcheon Gules on three piles issuant in base Argent a lion passant crowned Or (Schönborn) and below the shield on another shield Argent the cross of the Teutonic Order. Supporters: Two lions affronteé crowned Or, armed and langued Gules each supporting a banner, to dexter of the Empire and to sinister of Austria
(artwork for both is by the late Michael McCarthy)
The Most Rev. Anthony Fisher, OP until now Bishop of Parramatta and previously auxiliary bishop of Sydney will be installed as the IX Archbishop of Sydney on November 12. His coat of arms (above) was prepared by Mr. Chris Wolter who had also done the work on the archbishop’s arms in Parramatta and as auxiliary bishop (below).
In the interest of full disclosure I, along with the President of the Australian Heraldry Society, Mr. Richard d’Apice, AM, were consulted on this coat of arms. As with any such consultation some of our advice was followed and some was not but the archbishop and Mr. Wolter were very open to hearing suggestions. Essentially, the archbishop retains the arms he first assumed when becoming auxiliary bishop of Sydney. Those arms combine the armorial bearings of the Order of Preachers (more commonly referred to as the Dominicans) of which he is a member impaled with arms that are based on the arms used by St. John Cardinal Fisher when bishop of Rochester, England with some minor alterations for difference (i.e. the inclusion of the Marian symbol). Over this on an inescutcheon (sometimes referred to as an escutcheon “in pretense” although that expression isn’t wholly appropriate in this case) is the arms of the See of Sydney.
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
Fr. Guy Selvester's blog of Ecclesiastical Heraldry
