Coat of Arms Cardinal McElroy

The Coat of Arms of His Eminence

ROBERT CARDINAL McELROY

Archbishop of Washington

Arms impaled. In the dexter: Quarterly Azure and Gules, a cross bottony over all quarterly Or and Argent; 1, a crescent Argent; 2, three mullets of six points fesswise in chief Argent; 3, as many mullets of five points fesswise in chief Argent; 4, a head erased affronté and winged all Argent. In the sinister: Per fess Azure and Vert, in chief the stylized silhouette of Mission San Francisco de Assis above, in base, that of Mission San Diego both Argent; in base below to dexter a dove turned to sinister volant wings addorsed and to sinister, an oak leaf both Argent scales Or.

The shield is ensigned with an archiepiscopal cross Or in pale behind the shield and surmounted by a cardinal’s galero with cords and fifteen tassels on either side in five rows of one, two, three, four and five all Gules.

On a scroll below the shield is the motto: “Dignitatis Humanae.”

The arms of the Archdiocese of Washington were devised in 1947 by William F. J. Ryan and modified in 2001 by Anthony W. C. Phelps, when the cross bottony was substituted for the original cross of chain links in silver. Cardinal McElroy’s arms were devised originally by Rev. Timothy Pelc. The present blazon of his arms was done by Rev. Guy Selvester. The rendering of the impaled arms was done by Georgina Wilkinson.

Significance of the Coat of Arms of the Archdiocese of Washington

When the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Washington was designed in 1947, the shield had a cross over all made of silver chains linked at the center to represent the states united by the federal government in the city of Washington. In 2001, the chains were replaced with a cross bottony, modeled on the cross on the Maryland coat of arms and on the arms of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, but “differenced” by being quartered in gold and silver. The alteration reflected that most of the Archdiocese of Washington is located within Maryland; the original design had no elements from Maryland at all.

In the first quarter is a crescent, for the Blessed Virgin Mary, the patroness of the United States under the title of the Immaculate Conception. In the second quarter are three six-pointed stars in silver, from the arms of Pope Pius VI, in whose pontificate the American hierarchy was established, in 1790. In the third quarter are three five-pointed stars in silver, from the arms of George Washington. In the fourth quarter, a young man’s head with wings signifies Saint Matthew the Apostle, the titular saint of the Cathedral. The colors of the shield’s quarters and charges give in effect a design in red, white, and blue.

Significance of the Coat of Arms of Cardinal McElroy

In the upper portion against a field of blue are stylized silhouettes of the Mission San Francisco de Assis and the Mission San Diego. Cardinal McElroy was born in San Francisco and served there as a priest, pastor, and auxiliary bishop. He was the Bishop of San Diego before he was appointed to the Archdiocese of Washington.

In the lower part, the green field symbolizes God’s natural order. The dove, the leaf, and the scales signify facets of the dignity of the human person made in God’s image, which form the framework for Cardinal McElroy’s published writings.

The dove of the Holy Spirit represents the principle of peace. As stated in Dignitatis Humanae, “Like Christ himself, the Apostles were unceasing bent upon bearing witness to the truth of God, and they showed the fullest measure of boldness in ‘speaking the word with confidence’ (Acts 4:31) before the people and their rulers. With a firm faith they held that the Gospel is indeed the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. Therefore they rejected all ‘carnal weapons.’ They followed the example of the gentleness and respectfulness of Christ and they preached the word of God in the full confidence that there was resident in this word itself a divine power able to destroy all the forces arrayed against God and bring men to faith in Christ and to His service.” (Dignitatis Humanae, 22-27)

The oak leaf represents the sanctity of life, human and natural, as well as for “eternal life,” since the oak does not shed its leaves in the winter. It is a symbol of life that lasts through human seasons. “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:39-40)

The scales stand for justice, without which there can be no peace in human or in international relations. As Dignitatis Humanae attests: “A sense of the dignity of the human person has been impressing itself more and more deeply on the consciousness of contemporary man, and the demand is increasingly made that men should act on their own judgement, enjoying and making use of a responsible freedom, not driven by coercion but motivated by a sense of duty.” (Dignitatis Humanae, 1)