When a bishop moves to a new diocese, especially from being an auxiliary bishop to being the ordinary of the diocese, he often changes his coat of arms to reflect his new position and responsibilities.
For Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., the changes to his coat of arms are few, but important, as he becomes bishop of the Diocese of Providence, R.I.
The coat of arms was designed and revised by his sister, Felician Sister Mary Francis Lewandowski, who does graphic design, publishing and website creation for her religious community.
A major change in the new coat of arms is the representation of the Diocese of Providence, with the left side of the shield taking three white crosses on a blue background from the shield of the diocese. That replaces a tower on the original coat, which hearkened to the seal of the city of Toledo, Ohio, and a reminiscent tower in the namesake city of Toledo, Spain. Bishop Lewandowski’s family grew up in a Redemptorist parish in Lima, in the Diocese of Toledo.
When Bishop Lewandowski first became a bishop, Sister Mary Francis had a conversation about the elements he wanted to emphasize and did some research on the topic of heraldry, which includes coats of arms.
“Knowing my brother, I was able to put a more personal emphasis on the way I portrayed things,” Sister Mary Francis told the Catholic Review in 2020. “He’s kind of a simple guy in the sense that he doesn’t want real huge decoration and fanfare. He wants to be part of the people and to have what he does accessible to them.”
His original coat of arms included standard elements such as the episcopal hat, or galero, with three rows of tassels; the shield; and the motto. For bishops, the galero and tassels, six on each side, are green.
The coat of arms includes Redemptorist influences, including the Greek abbreviation for the Mother of God (theotokos), which is found on the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. That attribute of Mary is essential to Redemptorists and “reflects the bishop’s dependence on Mary’s motherly strength and intercession, and his desire to make her known wherever he serves,” the description says.
In the new coat of arms, the Greek letters are moved to the right part of the shield, with another symbol for Redemptorists, a cross over three hills with a lance and a sponge (reminiscent of the sour wine offered to Jesus on the cross). These symbols come from the seal of the Redemptorists to “portray the heart of the bishop’s religious life and formation.”
Bishop Lewandowski’s motto, “Because of Your Holy Cross,” is a quote from the testament of St. Francis of Assisi that was adopted by St. Alphonsus Liguori in his well-known devotional work, “The Way of the Cross.” St. Alphonsus founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as the Redemptorists, in 1732.
According to the description (or blazon, in heraldic terms) of Bishop Lewandowski’s coat of arms, “The white rays streaming from behind the cross against the red background depict God’s infinite mercy flowing from the Body and Blood of Christ, pervading the whole of our lives.”
The Holy Spirit is depicted as breaking the upper edge of the shield “as it is the privilege of the Holy Spirit to inspire new life and envision endless possibilities for the Church, God’s people,” the description says.
Email Christopher Gunty at editor@CatholicReview.org
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