Coat of Arms

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Cardinals Update: Passing of Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia, Librarian Emeritus of the Vatican Apostolic Library and Archivist Emeritus of the Vatican Secret Archives (Argentina), at the age of 91

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Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia, Cardinal-Priest of S. Girolamo della Carita pro hac vice Title, has passed away on Tuesday, 9 December 2014 at the age of 91. He was the Librarian of the Vatican Apostolic Library and the Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives from 1998 to 2003, in charge of the various collections of the Vatican and the Holy See, of documents and various other objects under the care of the Apostolic See. He was also Secretary for the Congregation for Bishops and the College of Cardinals before taking up the aforementioned role.

http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardJP2-8.htm#103

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Cardinal Mejia was created Cardinal in 2001 by Pope St. John Paul II in his eighth Cardinal creation consistory on 21 February 2001. His motto was “Ipse est pax nostra” which means ‘He Himself is our peace’, a reminder that our Lord Jesus Christ brings peace into the world, and in His Good News we can find true peace. It is this peace which Cardinal Mejia had worked hard for many years, and to which peace he is now going to.

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We pray for Cardinal Mejia, that he will rest in peace, and God will reward him for all his hard and great work as the long time servant of God for the ministries and good works he had done for the sake of God and His people in the entire Universal Church in his dedication and work in the Roman Curia, in helping those who are dealing with health care and care of the sick around the world. May the Lord welcome him into His embrace in heaven and give him eternal rest and happiness that he deserved.

With the passing of Cardinal Mejia, and the recent aging out of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., the College of Cardinals now stands at 208 members, with 112 Cardinal-electors and 96 Cardinal non-electors. The number of Cardinal-electors now is 8 below the specified maximum limit of 120.

There are now 8 Cardinal-elector vacancy in the College of Cardinals, 0 vacant Cardinal Suburbicarian Sees (for Cardinal Bishops), 5 vacant Cardinal Titles (for Cardinal Priests) and 11 vacant Cardinal Deaconries (for Cardinal Deacons).

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Passing of Cardinal Marco Ce, Cardinal-Patriarch Emeritus of Venice (Italy) at the age of 88

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Cardinal Marco Ce, Cardinal-Priest of S. Marco has passed away on Monday, 12 April 2014 at the age of 88. He was the Patriarch of Venice, one of the most preeminent diocese in the world, from 1978 to 2002, and was succeeded in his position by Cardinal Angelo Scola, the likely future successor to the throne of St. Peter.

http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardJP2-1.htm#31

Cardinal Ce was created Cardinal in 1979 by Pope St. John Paul II in his first Cardinal creation consistory on 30 June 1979. His motto was Christus Ipse Pax, which means “The peace of Christ”. This means an emphasis on proclaiming the peace of Christ, which He proclaimed Himself after His resurrection to be with us.

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We pray for Cardinal Ce, that he will rest in peace, and God will reward him for all his hard and great work as the long time servant of God as the shepherd of the faithful in Venice, for all the ministries and good works he had done there for the sake of God and His people. May the Lord welcome him into His embrace in heaven and give him eternal rest and happiness that he deserved.

With the passing of Cardinal Ce, the College of Cardinals now stands at 215 members, with 119 Cardinal-electors and 96 Cardinal non-electors. The number of Cardinal-electors now is just at the specified maximum limit.

There are now 0 Cardinal-elector vacancy in the College of Cardinals, 0 vacant Cardinal Suburbicarian Sees (for Cardinal Bishops), 2 vacant Cardinal Title (for Cardinal Priests) and 6 vacant Cardinal Deaconries (for Cardinal Deacons).

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Final version of Pope Francis’ coat of arms

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The draft version of Pope Francis’ coat of arms had been finalised, with minor changes that improves greatly upon the draft version. The golden star is altered from a five-pointed star into an 8-pointed star representing the Blessed Virgin Mary, and with the spikenard flower, which is used in perfumes, being the symbol of St. Joseph, more accurately drawn. Finally, the motto “Miserando atque Eligendo” is encased in a scroll.

This should be the finalised official version of Pope Francis’ coat of arms, though variations may exist in different forms.

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Official coat-of-arms of Pope Francis, the 266th Pope, Leader of the Universal Church

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The official coat-of-arms of Pope Francis, which followed closely the model established by Pope Benedict XVI, in placing the ‘three-tiered’ ‘papal mitre’ instead of the papal tiara, and following the same shield model as that of his Cardinalate and episcopal coat-of-arms, but with altered colours for the star and the grapes, from silver to gold.

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Pope Francis used his episcopal motto “Miserando atque Eligendo” which means “Lowly but chosen” in English, in line with his views and outlook on humility.

The Cardinal’s fifteen red tassels and the galero on top of it, is replaced by the papal arms standard including the three-tiered papal mitre and the crossed keys of the kingdom of heaven (silver and gold).

The symbols that appeared on the shield are first, the IHS symbol surrounded with a sun-like ray is the symbol of the Jesuit order (S.J.) of which Pope Francis is a member of, and the star on the bottom-left, in conjunction with the blue colouration of the shield represents the Virgin Mary, and the grape on the bottom right represents Jesus Christ, as the grower of the vineyard of the Lord.

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Coat of arms of Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio, S.J., now Pope Francis

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This is the coat of arms of Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio, S.J., Metropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, who was elected as the 266th Pope and Bishop of Rome last Wednesday, 13 March 2013 and chosen the name Pope Francis.

Pope Francis used his episcopal motto “Miserando atque Eligendo” which means “Lowly but chosen” in English, in line with his views and outlook on humility.

The Cardinal’s fifteen red tassels and the galero on top of it will be replaced by the papal arms standard including the papal tiara/mitre and the crossed keys of the kingdom of heaven (silver and gold).

The symbols that appeared on the shield are first, the IHS symbol surrounded with a sun-like ray is the symbol of the Jesuit order (S.J.) of which Pope Francis is a member of, and the star on the bottom-left, in conjunction with the blue colouration of the shield represents the Virgin Mary, and the grape on the bottom right represents Jesus Christ, as the grower of the vineyard of the Lord.

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Summary of the Fifth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals : Thursday, 7 March 2013

The Fifth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals was held this morning, Thursday, 7 March 2013. All the Cardinal-electors, all 115 of them who will be voting to elect the new Pope in the upcoming Conclave, are already in Rome and had taken part in the meeting this morning.

No date has yet been fixed for the start of the Conclave, although the afternoon session, that is the Sixth General Congregation may decide just that, or the Seventh one, which will be held tomorrow, Friday, 8 March 2013 morning at 9.30 am. Fr. Federico Lombardi, the head of the Holy See Press Office mentioned that he is not certain whether the College of Cardinals will be deciding the date of the Conclave by the afternoon meeting or not.

If there is any immediate decision on the Conclave date in the afternoon meeting, Fr. Lombardi will announce it through message to journalists at 7 pm Rome time today (Thursday), or corresponding to 6 pm UTC / 1 pm EST / 10 am PST / Friday at 1 am for West Indonesia and UTC+7 areas / Friday at 2 am for Singapore, Malaysia, HK, China, and other UTC+8 areas.

The Fifth General Congregation saw more Cardinals using their chances to speak, with 51 Cardinals having spoken so far in the past five General Congregations. As today’s fifth meeting saw the release of economic reports of the Holy See from several organisations in the Roman Curia handling the Holy See’s economics, some of the Cardinal’s speeches address those economic reports, while others focus more on the role of the Church in charitable works in the world, and the work in ecumenism and dialogue with other religions.

16 interventions were made by the Cardinals today, with 3 interventions dealing with the economic reports as mentioned, and others discussing the matters of the conclave, most importantly the profile, the much needed profile and who the next Pope should be and the necessary qualities he should have, and what is his characteristics that the Cardinals should seek in electing the right person for the position.

A video was shown in the press briefing on the works in the Sistine Chapel and the installation of the chimney and the stoves for burning the ballots, as well as the erasure of Pope Benedict XVI’s coat-of-arms from the Vatican Garden’s large coat-of-arms made with plants and flowers, depicting the Pope’s coat-of-arms. The particular coat-of-arms of Pope Benedict XVI was removed, while the papal tiara and the golden and silver keys of the Papacy remained in place.

The fifth meeting also highlighted issue of the oath of secrecy, which are taken in the case of the Conclave, the General Congregation meeting, as well as when the College deem it necessary for media blackout to be imposed to avoid any unwanted leak of information.

It is not certain at this time whether there will be two meetings tomorrow, Friday, 8 March 2013 as it was today. The confirmed meeting is the morning session’s Seventh General Congregation, which may indeed be the one that decides the Conclave date. After all, Fr. Lombardi made it clear in the press briefing that the Conclave is strictly more a time for solemn prayers and decisions, and voting itself.

All forms of discussions, discernments, speeches, and raising up issues pertaining to the Church should indeed be done at this time, during the General Congregation, and not during the Conclave. Hence, the reason why the General Congregation meetings should not be rushed, but rather be meticulously done, so that when these meetings are over, possibly by this weekend, the Cardinal-electors will be ready to enter the Sistine Chapel for the Conclave, possibly this coming Monday, 11 March 2013.

In the meanwhile, let us continue to pray for the Church, for all our Cardinals, and the Cardinal-electors, and for the smooth proceedings of the remaining General Congregations, as well as the Conclave later.

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A beautiful, artistic representation of the Sede Vacante with coat-of-arms of the Cardinal Camerlengo, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone

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The Umbrella above the keys (silver and gold) in the place of the usual papal tiara is the symbol of the sede vacante, to represent that the Papacy, the position of the Bishop of Rome is vacant. A more complete version of the symbol is with the coat-of-arms of the Cardinal Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, who is currently the Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Italy.

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The Cardinal Camerlengo is in charge of the events and governance of the Holy See, and also of the conclave during the sede vacante, until the new Pope is elected. He is also the one entrusted to seal the previous Pope’s private apartments and the destruction of the Ring of the Fisherman.

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Available videos on the Episcopal Ordination of Coadjutor Archbishop William Goh of Singapore

The part of the laying on of the hands on the Coadjutor Archbishop by the principal consecrator, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, and the co-consecrators and the other bishops present. Pouring of the Holy Spirit (passing of the Apostolic authority), and finally the imposition of the bishop’s pontificalia on the Coadjutor Archbishop, and his enthronement at his cathedra with his new coat-of-arms.

Also included is the special anthem composed by the Cathedral Choir master, titled Ut Vivant, in conjunction with the Coadjutor’s motto, Ut vivant (that they may live).

 

The speech made by Coadjutor Archbishop William Goh at the end of the Ordination Mass, thanking all present and all who had a hand in making the event a success, and he laid out the vision he has for the Church in Singapore.

 

(If there is any full video of the event available either on the internet or for purchase, I will update as soon as there is any news available on the matter).

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Coadjutor Archbishop of Singapore, Msgr. William Goh’s coat of arms

http://www.catholicnews.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8343:coadjutor-archbishop-elects-coat-of-arms&catid=328:episcopal-ordination&Itemid=147

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The coat of arms of an archbishop has four ranks of interlinked tassels, totalling 10 tassels on each sides of the central arms, surmounted by the traditional hat for the clergy, the galero, coloured green for bishops and archbishops.

Double-barred cross also topped the arms, symbolising the rank of Archbishop, who leads an Archdiocese, a larger and more important diocese.

The symbols of the arms include the lion of Singapore, star that represents the Virgin Mary, the boat that travels across oceans with a fleur-de-lys on the mast, that represents the journey of faith guided by Mary in the star to lead all to Jesus. The fleur-de-lys symbolises the connection Singapore Archdiocese had to the French missionaries, who founded the modern Catholic Church in Singapore in mid-1800s.

Sacred Heart represents love of God and mankind, as a basis of our Coadjutor Archbishop’s ministry, and seven hollow mascles at the centre of the arms representing St. William of York, the Coadjutor Archbishop’s patron.

The arms is supported by the Bible, which as the holy Word of God, becomes the basis and duty of the Coadjutor Archbishop’s ministry to teach and live the Word of God.

The motto is “Ut Vivant” or “That they may live”, symbolising the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep, in honour of St. Laurent Imbert, who gave Cathedral of the Good Shepherd an inspiration for its name, by his ready embrace of martyrdom, to save the faithful under his care from death.

For greater details, please visit the link to view the coat of arms and get a more detailed explanation on the coat of arms’ symbols. Please also pray for our soon-to-be ordained Coadjutor Archbishop!

(Addition : I believe that Coadjutor Archbishops are not given any titular see, which is the case for Auxiliary bishops, as Coadjutor Archbishops are immediately tied to the See which they will succeed, so in our case, Msgr. William Goh will be known as Coadjutor Archbishop of Singapore, and not of any titular see.)

(Example of titular see : Castellum Medianum, which was held by Auxiliary Bishop of Sibu, Bishop Joseph Hii, before he was chosen as the new Bishop of Miri)