Yesterday, July 31 His Holiness, Pope Francis appointed the Most Rev. Frank Caggiano, Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn, to be the fifth bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut. His coat of arms, adopted at the time he was ordained an auxiliary bishop reflects his native diocese (the crescent is a symbol of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the Brooklyn diocese), his background in Canon Law (the scales of justice) and his devotion to Jesus, the Lord, the Lamb of God. These personal arms harmonize well with the attractive “canting” arms of the Bridgeport diocese.

Ad Multos Annos!

NOTE: It has been discovered that the scales of justice in this case are not a symbol of Canon Law but of St. Michael the Archangel, to whom the bishop has a great devotion.

Bishop Browne will be ordained a bishop and installed as the Bishop of Kerry, Ireland on July 21st. The arms are not personal arms impaled with those of his diocese as one might think. Rather, they are impaled arms that both represent his personal coat of arms.

Meh.

The coat of arms of Bishop Ramón Castro Castro of Cuernavaca, Mexico who was installed on July 10th. It seems apparent that he based the overall design on the arms of Pope Benedict XVI who also employed the tripartite chape ployé. It is also interesting to see that he chose to omit the galero and use simply the episcopal cross to ensign the shield as I had just been remarking about recently.

On July 9, Bishop Mark Seitz will be installed as the new bishop of El Paso, Texas. The bishop himself explains the symbolism of his coat of arms on the diocesan website:

In the diocesan arms (left) the blue and white honor Our Lady under the title of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States.  The wavy border symbolizes the Rio Grande River.  In the diocesan crest the river surrounds the “Ysleta”, or little island, which was the first name of El Paso. The two long triangular forms represent the mountains that form the pass for which the diocese is named.  They are topped by trefoils.  These, along with the triangular mountains, both invoke the Trinity which is at the foundation of the Faith.  The trefoils are also a homage to the titular patron of the Cathedral, St. Patrick. The star above the lower image is both a remembrance of the Lone Star for which Texas is named and the North Star, a reference to the full early name of “El Paso del Norte”.  For Christians, the North Star is also Christ who points them to their true home in heaven. In the upper left-hand corner is an anchor from the coat of arms of St. Pope Pius X, who erected the diocese.

The bishop’s personal arms contain the red “Rose for Life”.  The trefoil (shamrock) speaks to his Irish heritage. The pattern dividing the chief from the rest of the field is intended to honor the Native American heritage that he shares and his desire to serve our first Americans. It is really rather un-heraldic and un-blazonable. The winged lion is the symbol for St. Mark the Evangelist.

The coat of arms of the Most Rev. David Walkowiak who was ordained and installed today as Bishop of Grand Rapids, Michigan. In his personal arms the bend with wavy lines alludes to St. Mary’s Seminary in Cleveland where he studied for the priesthood. The five small silver lines or “barrulets” that make up the waves stand for the five great lakes. The crowned harp is an allusion to King David, his baptismal patron, who is thought to have composed the Psalms. In base the flour-de-lis is a symbol of Our Lady and also of St. Joan of Arc, the patroness of the parish in Ohio where the bishop used to serve as a pastor.

The arms of the diocese represent falling water or rapids in the Grand River, hence, Grand Rapids and the cross moline alludes to a mill rind thus symbolizing the agrarian roots of the region.