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)
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 