Bishop's Blog / Coat of Arms

This is the Coat of Arms that has been produced as part of my ordination to the episcopacy.  One of the first things that Cardinal DiNardo said when we talked on September 14, just after I had received the call from the Nuncio was "start working on your Coat of Arms".  I can see why he said that because it is quite a process and I'm afraid several people were in danger of getting ulcers as they kept asking, "is it here yet"!!!!!!

A funny point in that story is that I emailed the priest who was working on the design and as it turned out he was in New Jersey and caught up in the disaster of Hurricane Sandy.  He apologized for being delayed but explained that he had no power after the storm, then I APOLOGIZED and felt like a bum after finding out he was dealing with much bigger problems than my Coat of Arms!

I will add the official description in a later post but the basic imagery in the Coat of Arms includes the following elements.  The left side is the Coat of Arms of the Diocese of Tyler.  The right side includes my personal images, at the top are the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart, the shell represents the Strickland family crest and is also in Pope Benedict XVI's Coat of Arms.  The wavy line is taken from the Coat of Arms of the Diocese of Dallas where I studied and was ordained to the priesthood.  The cross of stars represents the Southern Cross which is visible in Australia and is part of the Australian flag. 

All is coming together well for my Ordination.  I suppose one of the greatest challenges is the limited seating in Caldwell Auditiorium but our "team" is doing a great job of seeing to it that all of the diocese is at least represented. 

Thank you all for your continued prayers.  Please don't stop!!!!!!!!!!!

---