Bp. Flores' coat of arms loaded with symbolism
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published December 8, 2006
Coat of arms created by Deacon Paul Sullivan, Diocese of Providence
New Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Flores' motto, taken from St. Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologica," means "The Word is sent breathing forth love." | The coat of arms of Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Flores combines elements that reflect the new bishop's own spirituality with traditional heraldic devices dating back centuries.
The shield and motto are the portions of the coat of arms that a bishop is able to personalize, and Bishop Flores has chosen a gold monstrance on a red field or background for the upper part of the shield, with a stylized red rose on a white field for the lower part.
Separating the two are two wavy lines, gold above blue, slanting down from left to right.
Below the shield is a scroll bearing a Latin inscription from the "Summa Theologiae"of St. Thomas Aquinas.
The monstrance representing the Blessed Sacrament is there for two reasons, one having to do with his home Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas, and also with his personal devotion, Bishop Flores explains. "Corpus Christi is named for the mystery of the Body of the Lord, but also because the sacrament of the altar is the treasure of the Church and so it has also been the central focus of my priesthood," he says.
"People often ask what has been the greatest gift God has ever given me, and my spontaneous response is, 'God has given me a great love for the Blessed Sacrament,' " the new bishop adds.
The lower part of the shield features a red rose – in the stylized form developed by the traditional art of heraldry, the art of designing coats of arms.
The rose is intended to be evocative of the Blessed Virgin, and in particular her 1531 apparition to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474-1548), which played such a key role in the evangelization of Mexico, Bishop Flores' ancestral homeland.
"You know, the events leading to the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe involve the roses in the tilma of Juan Diego, which were transformed into the image of the Blessed Virgin. And there is a long tradition in the Church of recognizing that the mystical rose is a symbol of the Blessed Virgin," he explains.
But the color of the rose also has additional symbolism. "I have a devotion to the martyrs of Mexico, and the red is kind of an oblique reference to the blood that has been shed to protect the integrity of the faith in Mexico – and particularly Miguel Pro. I've visited his tomb in Mexico City, and I keep a holy card of his in my vest pocket all the time," Bishop Flores says.
Blessed Miguel Pro (1891-1927), a Jesuit, was one of the many Catholic priests and religious who were executed or assassinated during the fierce persecution of the Church carried on in Mexico in the early 20th century.
"It started in the 1910s, but was particularly fierce in the 1920s, and then leveled off into the 1930s. Many priests had to flee, many were martyred, and religious schools were closed," Bishop Flores says.
The wavy gold and blue bands that separate the upper and lower portions of the shield represent "the waters of baptism and also the territorial connection of the Rio Grande river that runs between Texas and north Mexico, because that's where my family originally was from," Bishop Flores explains.
For his motto, the new bishop has chosen "Verbum mittitur spirans amorem," which translates as "The Word is sent breathing forth love."
"It's from St. Thomas Aquinas, from the 'Summa,' and what he expresses very beautifully in that phrase is that God the Father sent His Word, and the Word always comes into the world breathing forth love.
"The Word is meant to generate love within those who hear it, those who receive it. It becomes, for me, a beautiful encapsulation of the whole mystery of what God has done for us. He has sent his Word, and the Word breathes forth love into the world. That means the Son comes breathing forth the Spirit," he says. But it also applies to the Church, Bishop Flores continues, "because everything we do – the preaching, the teaching, the festivals, the processions, the many things we do through Catholic charities, our concern for justice, all activity in the Church – is in some way a share in that Trinitarian mission, is meant to be a sharing in the proclamation of the
Word that is meant to engender love in those who hear it, and that's the divine love."
In thinking about the Church and all it does, it is important to see the "big picture" and have a "sense of where it all comes from," the new bishop says.
"That's why that motto is an expression of how everything we do flows from the mission of the Word, who comes into world breathing forth His divine love, which is the Holy Spirit. Everything fits into that," Bishop Flores adds. In addition to those personal aspects, the coat of arms contains elements that have been developed over the centuries, and are mostly unchanged since the Renaissance.
The shield is topped by a cross, and above that is a galero, a style of hat that was typically worn by prelates when they made pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. Although we typically associate the color purple with bishops, the hat's green color dates to a time centuries ago when Spanish bishops all wore green hats.
Suspended from the galero are six tassels on each side, arranged in rows of one, two and three.
If Bishop Flores ever becomes the ordinary of his own diocese, the shield of his coat of arms will be divided down the middle with the arms of his diocese on the left and his own shield design elements on the right.
Elevation of rank in the Church hierarchy affects the number of tassels hanging from the galero – archbishops have 10 on each side, but cardinals have 15 per side and the color of the hat and tassels changes to red.
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