BLAZON
SYMBOLISM
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SALINA ARMS
In the United States, Roman Catholic residential bishops traditionally join their arms, in a heraldic practice known as impalement, with the existing arms of their new diocese. This is not the custom elsewhere in the Church but has been so in America for most of its ecclesial history. Keeping with this custom, the arms of Bishop Coakley are now joined in impalement to those of Salina.
The heraldic device of the See of Salina is grounded in the historic arms of the earlier Diocese of Concordia, Kansas, founded in A.D. 1887, from which the Church of Salina sprang forth in 1944. The original heraldic achievement of Concordia was inspired by the papal arms of Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) who established this diocese in the ninth year of his pontificate.
The shield of Salina is divided into quarters by the Christian Cross, the emblem of our shared faith and common belief. This device was employed in the original Concordia arms. The cross is counter-charged (sometimes written as counter-changed), a term used to describe the mirror affect realized by an alternating, or reversing, use of two different colors. The Salina coat of arms makes use of gold and blue, gold being properly termed a heraldic metal and blue a heraldic tincture.
When quartering is achieved in heraldry, as is the case in the Salina arms, each of the four equal size resulting fields is assigned a number according to an ancient heraldic formula. The first of these numbered fields appears in the upper left hand side of the shield, known in heraldry as dexter chief. The first quarter is worked in gold, one of the two heraldic metals, which represents divinity and revealed truth. It is here in the Salina arms that a six-point blue star appears, sometimes known in heraldry as a mullet. This emblem was also found in the arms of Concordia and symbolizes the Marian title of "Our Lady of Perpetual Help," the patroness of the original cathedral-church at Concordia and now the principle patroness of the Diocese of Salina. Blue was originally selected for the mullet because of its identification with the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Quarter two, known in heraldry as sinister chief, comprises the upper right hand side of the Salina arms. It is worked in blue, devoid of any emblems, and likewise represents the Blessed Virgin Mary. The third quarter, known as dexter base, mirrors the second quarter in hue, simplicity and symbolism. Finally, quarter four, known as sinister base, completes the Salina arms. It is likewise worked in gold and is charged with the red heraldic image for the ecclesial title of "the Sacred Heart of Jesus," representing the titular cathedral of the See of Salina.
About the Heraldic Designers
James-Charles Noonan, Jr. is a world-renown Church historian and ecclesiastical protocolist. He has published numerous books on these subjects, in the United States and Europe, including the best selling text The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Roman Catholic Church (Viking, 1996). He holds several academic degrees and is an alumnus of the Catholic University of America (Washington, DC), The Gregorian University (Rome), St. Charles Borromeo Seminary (Overbrook) and LaSalle University (Philadelphia) amongst other institutions in the United States and Europe. He is also one of the most highly decorated Americans alive today, having received nine orders of knighthood from foreign heads of state, royalty, and from the Vatican. Noonan, in particular, is a Knight Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a high Vatican honor.
Trained in ecclesial heraldry by the undisputed leaders of this field of study, namely the late Archbishop Bruno B. Heim (private secretary of Pope John XXIII whose arms Heim designed along with the papal arms of Paul VI, John Paul I and the present pontiff), as well as the late Cardinal Jacques Martin (Prefect of the Papal Household during three pontificates), Mr. Noonan is now recognized at the leading Catholic heraldist of our own time. His select clients include cardinals, archbishops and bishops, and he had designed arms for basilicas, shrines, priests and minor prelates the world over. Mr. Noonan resides in Montgomery County Pennsylvania’s Gwynedd Valley.
Linda Nicholson, who expertly paints the heraldic arms designed by James-Charles Noonan, Jr., completes the partnership of this unique team in Church service. Nicholson’s talented renderings complement Noonan’s rich designs. She is a fellow of the prestigious Society of Heraldic Arts in England and paints the grants of arms for the Governor General of Canada and the British Crown. According to Noonan, "Linda Nicholson is one of the great heraldic painters of all ages and one of the few remaining experts in her craft". In addition to her artistic talents, Nicholson holds a Master’s Degree in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto.