Thanks to the assistance of a friend who attended the ordination I now have images of the coats of arms of the other two new Auxiliary Bishops of New York. The arms of the Most Rev. John O’Hara is below and below that the arms of the Most Rev. Peter Byrne.

On August 12 Bishop Mitchell Rozanski, until now Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore, will be installed as the IX Bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts. The coat of arms of the new bishop (above) combines his personal arms with those of the see of Springfield. (the four roundels with waves symbolize a field of springs and the cross is associated with St. Michael, patron of the cathedral.)

His personal arms (below) were assumed in 2004 at the time he became a bishop when he was appointed as Auxiliary in Baltimore.

The small cross is symbolic of St. Michael (a name from which Mitchell is derived); the red and white colors allude to the national colors of Poland; the flower alludes to his surname which, in Polish, means “rose flower”. The lower portion uses the colors derived from the arms of Calvert, Lord Baltimore. The red bend (vertical stripe) and open book are for preaching the Word. The motto is taken from Psalm 100.

(Artwork by Paul Sullivan)

On August 4, 2014 Cardinal Dolan of New York ordained three Auxiliary Bishops for the Archdiocese. They are the Most Revs. Peter Byrne, John O’Hara and John Jenik. While I have not yet seen the coats of arms assumed by all three I did come across the interesting and distinctive coat of arms assumed by Bishop Jenik. He designed the coat of arms himself and I am not sure of the symbolism behind the design. Many might see this as strange because it does not follow the usual “lucky charms” notion of heraldry with an overloaded shield filled with charges meant to be a pictorial CV of the bearer. Good for him! Such heraldry is atrocious and all too common among the American Catholic hierarchy.

Rather, Bishop Jenik’s coat of arms is very simple. This is one of the earmarks of good heraldry. The use of black and white may make it stark but not knowing the meaning of the design there may very well be a good reason for the choice of these colors. In addition, since heraldry is, at its heart, about identification and nothing else, the design is clear to see and easily identifiable. Again, these are attributes of good heraldry. It reminds me of some of the most ancient heraldic designs that present clear images and use as few colors as possible.

I say hats off to Bishop Jenik for an excellent and unique design for his coat of arms!

(Artwork by Paul Sullivan)

Father Kevin Doran is being ordained Bishop of Elphin, Ireland on July 13. The description of his coat of arms (above) taken from the website of the diocese:

In the right side of the shield (seen from the point of view of the one holding the shield) we find represented the Coat of Arms of the Diocese of Elphin; two golden crossed croziers surmounting a lamb as the central symbol reflecting Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  The red (gules) color is the color of love, of blood; the infinite love of the Father who sent the Son to shed His blood for us, the ultimate act of love.

The personal arms of Bishop Kevin occupy the left side. This part of the shield is in silver (argent). The anchor, symbol of hope, is taken from the Doran family motto, Spes Ancora Vitae (Hope is the Anchor of Life).  The anchor is in green (vert), the symbolic colour of hope.

The blackbird references the legend of St. Kevin and the Blackbird, which is so well captured in the poem by Seamus Heaney. It reminds Bishop Kevin of the importance of fidelity to prayer and the relationship between prayer, compassion and service. The blackbird carries in his beak a copper pot, symbol of St Asicus, patron saint of the diocese of Elphin. St. Asicus was a coppersmith.

Fr. Kevin spent some years as parish priest of Glendalough, Co. Wicklow (The Valley of the Two Lakes). As he ministered to parishioners and pilgrims around the lakeshore, he was often reminded of the ministry of Jesus, much of which took place around the lake (or sea) of Galilee.  As he undertakes his new mission in the Diocese of Elphin, (a diocese bounded on one end by the River Shannon and on the other by the Atlantic Ocean), he takes the ministry of Jesus as his model and inspiration. This is the symbolism of the wavelets in the lower part of the shield.

The coat of arms above is that of Giuseppe Piemontese, OFM Conv who will be ordained on June 21 as the bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia, Italy. A very pleasing design.

(…and if you say the name of the diocese very quickly the middle part sounds like you’re saying “Narnia”)