Archbishop's Coat Of Arms
 By tradition, Cardinal Maida’s coat of arms is joined to the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Detroit.
On the left, the Archdiocesan coat of arms symbolically honors Michigan’s spiritual father, St. Isaac Jogues, the Most Blessed Trinity, the State of Michigan, and the City of Detroit.
It is divided into four gold sections by a black cross embellished with three gold stars. A pair of black antlers appears at the upper left and a black martlet in the other three.
The colors black and gold are from the Shield of St. Isaac Jogues, as are the antlers (which also appear in the Seal of Michigan) and the three gold stars, which honor the Blessed Trinity.
The martlets are mythical birds which appear on the Shield of Cadillac, whom historians honor as the founder of Detroit.
Cardinal Maida’s coat of arms on the right side is divided into two sections. The larger portion is filled with a sunburst, the sun and its corona, symbolizing God the Father’s creative act.
This symbol of creation is also intended as a reference to the first Adam, recalling the Cardinal’s baptismal name. The cross inside the sunburst symbolizes the redemptive sacrifices of Christ. Its fleur-de-lis endings are an allusion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The upper portion of the coat of arms contains a dove, a direct reference to the Incarnation and also symbolic of the Holy Spirit and the Peace that comes through the reconciliation of the universe of God.
The three major symbols in Cardinal Maida’s coat of arms represent the Trinity and the three major continuing events of our salvation history: Creations, Incarnation and Redemption. The particular juxtaposition of the cross within the sunburst indicates that Christ, the new Adam, has redeemed fallen creation and makes it new. It emphasizes the motto under Cardinal Maida’s coat of arms, FACERE OMNIA NOVA, “To Make All Things New,” from Revelations.
The red and white are the national colors of Poland, and recall Cardinal Maida’s ancestry.
A single-traversed processional cross is placed behind the shield as an emblem of episcopal rank. It is the one heraldic emblem that is reserved to bishops.
|
