The coat of arms of the newly ordained auxiliary bishop of Lausanne, Genève & Fribourg in Switzerland, the Most Rev. Alain de Raemy. His arms are colorful and interesting and, in continental fashion, employ lots of elements repeated in four quarters. This method seems odd to those who are used to arms that are marshaled only to indicate jurisdiction over a territory like a diocese or abbey. But, it is not uncommon in Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
The artwork is by Laurent Granier.
The new archbishop of Salzburg, Austria, Dr. Franz Lackner, OFM will be installed on January 12. His coat of arms employs the traditional red galero used by ancient custom by the archbishops of Salzburg (who hold the title “Primate of Germany”) because of their role as Papal Legate. This red galero with 20 tassels is used even if the archbishop is not a Cardinal. If he is promoted to Cardinal then another row of tassels is added to the galero. Similarly, the archbishops of Salzburg wear red, not purple, even if they are not Cardinals.
The arms also illustrate that the method of marshaling coats of arms preferred in many places, impalement, is far from the only option. The ancient arms of the See of Salzburg make up the upper third of the shield. The center section of blue with the gold grapevine is primarily emblematic of those referred to in Jn 15:1-5 the Lord’s vineyard and the strong connection between Christ and the believer (“I am the vine; you are the branches.”) . At the same time the vine but is also reference to the origin of Dr. Lackner from the wine area , namely that of Eastern Styria around Kapfenstein and St. Anna am Aigen. The golden heraldic lily is the actual symbol for Mary. The threefold division of the fleur-de-lis symbolizes the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The green base shows the “Franciscan Conformities” or the coat of arms of the Franciscan Order (without the clouds).
On January 3 Archbishop Richard Gagnon, formerly bishop of Victoria was installed as Archbishop of Winnipeg. The arms (above) which he assumed upon becoming a bishop are retained. The shield is partly inspired by the emblem of Bishop Gagnon’s predecessor, Modeste Demers (1809-1871), the first Bishop of Vancouver Island. Bishop Demers and Bishop Gagnon are closely related via a collateral branch of the Demers family. Bishop Demers’ emblem was red and gold and featured a gold Latin cross set on a mount with two figures praying at the base of the cross. These tinctures have been kept, as has the cross. Since Bishop Gagnon was ordained on June 24th, the feast day of St. John the Baptist, the two charges are gold Agnus Dei emblems, traditionally associated with St. John the Baptist. This is also a reference to Bishop Gagnon’s ancestral roots in Quebec.
He may impale these arms with those of the archdiocese (below). In addition, the episcopal cross behind the shield will become an archiepiscopal cross with two horizontal bars and another row of green tassels will be added to the galero.
UPDATE: The only image I was able to obtain so far of the Archbishop’s arms impaled is in black and white. As one commenter on this post has already pointed out there have been slight changes made to the arms of the archdiocese.
Salvatore Matano will be installed today as the ninth bishop of Rochester, New York succeeding Bishop matthew Clark who has served there for the last thirty four years. Rochester is also the diocese where the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen served as diocesan bishop briefly before being promoted to titular archbishop of Newport.
The description of the bishop’s coat of arms (taken from material provided by the diocese) is as follows:
“On a blue field is a silver moline cross taken from the heraldry of the bishop’s native diocese of Providence, Rhode Island; a golden star with seven points simultaneously recalls the Divine institution of the Seven Sacraments and the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. The liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows is observed on the 15th day of September, the day of Bishop Matano’s birth. In base are seven silver hills on which the Eternal City of Rome – the city of the Bishop’s priestly formation and graduate education – and the City of Providence – the city of the Bishop’s birth and preliminary education – are said to be built. The blue background symbolizes the ascent of the human soul towards God, with whom each of us was created to dwell in unapproachable light.”
The personal arms are those he assumed when he became a bishop in 2005.
The diocese of Bridgeport, CT has finally released the coat of arms of Bishop Frank Caggiano which were posted here earlier. As has become increasingly frequent these days the bishop has chosen to completely redesign his personal arms in having them impaled (that is, marshaled together side-by-side on the same shield) with the arms of the See of Bridgeport. This is an ill-advised course of action. Nevertheless, many heraldic designers and artists who may be consulted to prepare the coat of arms of a bishop but who did not originally design the bishop’s personal arms encourage them to redesign their arms. One wonders if this is primarily because they wish to “have a crack at it” and improve on what they see to be an inferior design?
More often than not a competent artist can improve a poor design simply by the manner in which it is depicted artistically. This saves the unfortunate consequence of changing the personal arms of the bearer long after they have already become associated with him as his personal emblem. It can be seen as a repudiation of everything that came before. For a bishop this is, perhaps, not the best signal to send as it looks rather like he is negating all the ministry he did previous to the present moment and starting fresh rather than continuing in ministry. In fact, it was for this very reason that soon-to-be Saint John Paul II insisted on leaving the letter “M” in his coat of arms despite the protestations of the late great Bruno Heim that letters were inappropriate heraldic charges. John Paul II argued that even though it was heraldically a poor design he had already borne those arms for years and under Communist rule where the Church in Poland was seen as a haven for those who loved freedom. To change the arms upon election as pope might inadvertently send the signal that his stance against Communism would somehow modify or soften with his new position. This was something John Paul II wasn’t willing to risk even the appearance of. So, while he acquiesced to Heim’s suggestion of changing the colors from black on blue to gold on blue the “M” stayed.
So here we see that Bishop Caggiano, upon assuming the office of Diocesan Bishop of Bridgeport has chosen to mark the occasion not only by marshaling his personal arms with those of the diocese as is the usual custom in North America but also by abandoning the coat of arms he assumed upon becoming a bishop in favor of a redesigned coat of arms that retains the same basic elements rearranged in a new way…for reasons passing understanding.
If a redesign somehow greatly improves a coat of arms then it could be argued that it is justified. However, in this case any improvement is difficult to see.
In an earlier post I noted how Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis, Andrew Cozzens, had his coat of arms carved into the crook of his crozier. Here now we see the coat of arms in its full achievement.
Hmmm. Less than wonderful.
The shield is divided by a saltire which is traditionally the X-shaped “St. Andrew Cross”. The three hearts represent the Sacred Heart of Jesus (center) the Immaculate Heart of Mary (to dexter) and the Heart of St. Joseph (to sinister). I have never heard of the latter being depicted either in heraldry or in any Catholic religious symbolism and art. Perhaps it was made up by the armiger to balance the other two? Either way, three hearts is a bit much and, if they were to be used, in heraldry it would have been better NOT to depict them in the traditional form with flames, roses, thorns, etc. and simply to depict three heart-shaped charges to stand for these three hearts.
The waves in base are from the arms of the See, which the bishop now serves and had served as a priest as well. However, the mountains in chief, to allude to his native Colorado, should be stylized and not depicted in a portrait landscape style. When…When…WHEN are people going to get it through their heads that you cannot simply take any image or picture you want, slap it onto a shield and call it heraldry???
The cord around the perimeter of the shield represents the bond of fraternity that the bishop has with a group of priests who form a priestly fraternity of which he is a member. That’s a perfectly good symbol for such a bond but should have been depicted within the edge of the shield as a bordure. Depicting it as the actual edge of the shield is heraldically unsupportable.
In the description of the achievement the episcopal cross is described as being Celtic. There are two problems there. The first is my often mentioned admonition that individual armigers are not free to determine the shape, style and manner of the depiction of the external ornaments. That creative freedom applies only to that which is on the shield. The second problem in this case is that the cross depicted is not even Celtic!
So, all in all there are nice ideas here and the charges were chosen to represent wonderful priestly and personal virtues but the overall effect is disappointing at best.
The arms of the newly installed (Dec. 16th) Archbishop Leonard Blair of Hartford, Connecticut. He is the former bishop of Toledo, Ohio and also formerly the auxiliary bishop of Detroit, Michigan. Below his arms are those of his two immediate predecessors, Abp. Henry Mansell and Abp. Daniel Cronin both of whom are still living. The arms of the archdiocese employ nice canting arms for “hart” and “ford”.
The Most Rev. Andrew Cozzens will be ordained Titular Bishop of Bisica and Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of St. Paul, MN on December 9. The bishop commissioned a hand carved crozier which handsomely incorporates his newly assumed coat of arms into the crook of the crozier.
The national flag of South Africa (NOTE: I had originally written it was the coat of arms of South Africa but the South African state arms are a separate design entirely from the flag), used as a coat of arms by President Mandela when he had the Order of the Seraphim conferred on him by the King of Sweden.
May he rest in peace.
OK. I love heraldry. Can’t get enough of it. I like to see its use where and whenever I possibly can. I actually think it is underused in the Church. But, there are limits. As much as I love heraldry there are times and places when even I am forced to admit that slapping a coat of arms onto it is a bad idea. Case in point the photo below of the gathered bishops of Indonesia. The bishop in the back row third from the right and his fellow bishop in the front row third from the left look RIDICULOUS. Coats of arms on the front of a mitre? NO!
From the photos below which were taken on November 30th during a celebration of Vespers for the First Sunday of Advent we see that the throne chair used for papal liturgies (originally emblazoned with the arms of Pope St. Pius X and later modified to bear the arms of Pope Benedict XVI) have once again been slightly modified. The finials on the chair retain their original composition while the charges on the shield itself have been changed to bear the coat of arms of Pope Francis. It is nice to see some things are still being done. It is also odd to see the arms of Pope Francis topped by the tiara!
I learned only today of the October 14th death the the Most Rev. James J. Daly, DD Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre, NY. He was 92. I grew up in that diocese and Bishop Daly (whose gentle demeanor and soft-spokeness earned him the ironic nickname “tiger”) was the bishop who confirmed me in 1977. In fact, he had only just become a bishop the same month. His first confirmation was, fittingly, for the parish where he had served as pastor up until becoming a bishop but ours was only the second time he had administered the sacrament of Confirmation.
The right-hand man to Bishop John McGann for years, Daly also served as dean of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington and was in charge of helping decide which parishes priests would serve in. Yet colleagues said he was unassuming and humble, and was happiest being a parish priest.
Daly was born in the Bronx, grew up in Jamaica, Queens attended a Catholic high school, and studied for the priesthood at the seminary in Huntington. His experience as a priest on Long Island started before the local diocese existed. When he was ordained in 1948, Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Brooklyn made up the Diocese of Brooklyn. Nine years later, Nassau and Suffolk were carved out to create the Diocese of Rockville Centre. In 1958, Daly was assigned to the seminary, where he rose to the post of dean. By 1972, he was named pastor of St. Boniface parish in Elmont. By many accounts, it was one of the happiest times of his life. But the church hierarchy also needed him, and in 1977 Bishop John McGann requested that he be named auxiliary bishop. He eventually rose to vicar general, the No. 2 post in the diocese.
Daly retired in 1996, but remained active, visiting patients in hospitals and nursing homes. He also cared for a disabled brother in the house his family had bought decades ago in Blue Point, where Daly had his first assignment as a priest, from 1948 to 1951, at Our Lady of the Snow.
His coat of arms is based on the Irish arms associated with the name Daly. It has the addition of a scallop shell, a symbol of his baptismal patron, St. James, as well as the Sacred heart, a lily and a griffin’s head. These charges represent family allusions as well as his personal devotions. Unfortunately, I do not have a full color rendering.
He was a kind, gentle and very capable pastor, priest and bishop. Requiescat in pace.
The Office of Lord Lyon King of Arms will fall vacant at the end of December 2013, when Mr. David Sellar the current Lord Lyon steps down. The Lord Lyon is appointed by Her Majesty, the Queen on the recommendation of the First Minister under section 3 of the Lyon Kings of Arms (Scotland) Act 1867.
The Lord Lyon is the sole King of Arms in Scotland. He is the Head of the Heraldic Executive and the Judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, which has jurisdiction over all heraldic matters in Scotland. The office has both judicial and administrative functions. The Lord Lyon is also responsible for State Ceremonial in Scotland.
Applications to fill this Office must be legally qualified. An independent panel will consider the applications and make recommendations to the First Minister.
Henry (or Henrique) born on January 31, 1512 and died on January 31, 1580 reigned as King of Portugal and the Algarves and at the same time was a Cardinal of the Church. He ruled in Portugal between 1578 and 1580 and was known, for obvious reasons, as “Henry the Chaste”.
Henry was the fifth son of King Manuel I of Portugal and Maria of Aragon and the younger brother of King John III. He was not expected to succeed to the Portuguese throne since he was a younger son. Ordained as a priest in order to promote Portuguese interests within the Church then dominated by the Spanish he, not surprisingly as the son of a king, rose fast through the hierarchy, becoming in quick succession Archbishop Braga, then Archbishop of Évora and eventually of Lisbon before receiving the red hat in 1545, along with the Titular Roman church of Quattro Coronati.
Henry served as regent for his grandnephew, Sebastian, after 1557, and then succeeded him as king after Sebastian was killed at the Battle of Alcázarquibir. Henry renounced his clerical offices on his own volition and sought to marry for the continuation of the House of Avis, but Pope Gregory XIII, closely tied to the Habsburgs who controlled Spain, did not release him from his vows. The Cardinal-King died in Almeirim without having appointed a Council of Regency to choose a successor. Philip II of Spain who had a strong dynastic claim was elected King of Portugal at the Portuguese Cortes of Tomar in 1581.
For his arms he bore the royal arms of Portugal ensigned with a crown and a cardinal’s hat. (NOTE: the number of tassels was not fixed at 30 until the late 19th Century and prior to that cardinals often employed varying numbers of tassels on their galeri)
The coat of arms of the long-time assistant Papal Master of Ceremonies and recently appointed Papal Almoner, Archbishop Konrad Krajewski.
Sixteen years ago today, on the feast of St. Vincent dePaul, I was ordained a priest by the late Bishop Vincent (dePaul) Breen. On that day as well I assumed my coat of arms since I was now able to ensign the shield with the galero of a priest. The rendering used at that time (above) was done by the late Richard Crossett, an American heraldic artist of great talent. So, in addition to celebrating sixteen years as a priest today I celebrate sixteen years being armigerous. (for those of you who don’t know…go look it up!)
This morning the pope appointed Bernard Hebda, a Pittsburgh priest serving until now as bishop of Gaylord, Michigan to be the Coadjutor Archbishop of Newark, NJ. He will be serving in assistance to the current Archbishop, John Myers (age 72) and will immediately succeed him upon Myers’ resignation, whenever that comes sometime in the next three years. A coadjutor (arch)bishop shares in the governance of the diocese and, unlike an auxiliary bishop, automatically succeeds to the See upon the death or retirement of the previous diocesan (arch)bishop.
The coat of arms that Bishop Hebda will use during his time as coadjutor are pictured above. It is composed only of the personal arms he assumed at the time he became a bishop in 2009. It is not the custom for a coadjutor to combine his personal coat of arms with the coat of arms of the diocese on the same shield as a diocesan bishop does.
Archbishop Hebda’s personal arms use as the primary charge an elderberry tree which alludes to his surname, Hebda, itself similar to “ bez hebd ”, the Polish term for the type of elderberry tree that is widespread in the area of Southeastern Poland from which Bishop Hebda’s paternal grandparents emigrated. The tree thus also alludes to the Bishop’s parents and family. In addition, the berries of the tree are reminiscent of the beads of the Rosary, recalling that the Bishop, named to the episcopacy on October 7th, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, has entrusted his episcopal ministry to the Blessed Mother under that title. Over the elderberry tree appears a blue star, the shining symbol of Mary, to underline that Bishop Hebda has placed his new pastoral ministry under Her maternal protection.
The blue and white fess cheqy is taken from the coat of arms of the Diocese of Pittsburgh where they appear because they come from the arms of William Pitt. Placed as the foundation for the elderberry tree, the juxtaposition recalls that Bishop Hebda has his roots in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Archbishop Myers will continue to combine or impale his personal arms on the same shield as the arms of the archdiocese until such time as he steps down. It is at that time that archbishop Hebda, who will then succeed as Archbishop of Newark and Metropolitan of the Province of Newark (not the province of New Jersey as is often wrongly thought) will impale his own arms to those of the See of Newark (a preview of that below).
The pope accepted Bishop Brom’s resignation as Bishop of San Diego, California since he has reached the age of 75. He was immediately succeeded by his Coadjutor Bishop, the Most Rev. Cirilo Flores, the former auxiliary of the diocese of Orange, CA. Bishop Flores now impales his personal coat of arms with that of the diocese.
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
EXARANDORUM 