COAT OF ARMS

of His Most Reverend Eminence

the Cardinal
fra’ Raniero CANTALAMESSA OFMCap
Preacher of the Papal Household

* The miniatures of the coat of arms in color and black and white -
with the expected conventional signs indicating the enamels - are
by the heraldist ENZO PARRINO, Monterotondo (ROME).

BLASONATURA
"Blue to the silver dove, radiant with gold, flying towards the tip of the shield; to
the head of the Order of the Capuchin Friars Minor: in silver the bare arm of Christ
placed on the cross of St. Andrew on the arm dressed in Francis's cassock, with
complexion hands bearing the stigmata; the red cross is born from the meeting, all of
which is motivated by silver clouds. The shield is stamped with a hat with red cords and
tassels. The tassels, thirty in number, are arranged fifteen on each side, in five orders of
1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Under the shield, in the bifid and fluttering silver list, the motto in capital
letters of black: " VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS ”.

EXEGESIS
“Signs and symbols occupy an important place in human life. As a corporal and
spiritual being at the same time, man expresses and perceives spiritual realities through
material signs and symbols. As a social being, man needs signs and symbols to
communicate with others through language, gestures, actions. The same thing happens
in his relationship with God ”[1].

"Heraldry is a complex and particular language made up of a myriad of figures

and the coat of arms is a mark that must enhance a particular undertaking, an important
fact, an action to be perpetuated.

This documentary science of history was initially reserved for knights and
participants in military events, both warlike and sporting, who made themselves
recognizable thanks to the coat of arms, placed on the shield, on the helmet, on the flag
and also on the saddle cloth, representing the only way to stand out from each other.
 The heraldry of the knights was almost immediately imitated by the Church, even
if the ecclesiastical bodies in the pre-heraldic period already had their own distinctive
signs, so much so that at the rise of heraldry, in the 12th century, these figures took on
their own colors and appearance of that symbology.

"The learned and famous heraldist Goffredo di Crollalanza in Genesis and

History of the Blasonic Language (1876) writes among other things; 'Heraldry had
cavalry as its author, need for motive, trophy for purpose, tournaments and crusades for
occasion, battlefield for cradle, armor for field, design by means, symbol for auxiliary ,
creation by matter, ideology by concept, the coat of arms by consequence. And he
adds: 'The coat of arms is not the illustration; as the mind is not the soul, but the
manifestation of the soul "[2]

Ecclesiastical heraldry in our time is alive, current and widely used. For a prelate,
however, the use of a coat of arms must today be defined as a symbol, allegorical
figure, graphic expression, synthesis and message of his ministry.

It should be remembered that clerics were always prohibited from exercising the
militia and carrying arms and for this reason the term 'shield' or 'weapon' of heraldry
should not have been adopted; however, it must be said that until recently the
clergymen used their family crest, very often devoid of any religious symbolism.

The same symbolism of the Roman Church is drawn from the Gospel and is
represented by the keys given by Christ to the apostle Peter "[3].

In the first period the ecclesiastical coats of arms resulted with the shield
stamped by the miter with the fluttering infule; with the passage of time, however, at the
top of the shield the prelate hat with the cords and the various orders of tassels or bows,
of different number according to the dignity, all green if bishops, archbishops and
patriarchs, all of red if cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.

We also note that with "The Instruction on the robes, titles and coats of arms of
lower cardinals, bishops and prelates" of March 31, 1969, signed by the cardinal
secretary of state Amleto Cicognani, in art. 28 reads verbatim: "Cardinals and bishops
are allowed to use the coat of arms. The configuration of this coat of arms must comply
with the rules governing heraldry and be suitably simple and clear. Both the crosier and
the miter are removed from the coat of arms ”[4].

In the following art. 29 it is specified that the cardinals are allowed to have their
coat of arms affixed to the facade of the church which is attributed to them as a title or
deacon.
 The most excellent and most reverend bishops, in fact, stamp the shield,
attached to a simple gold processional cross, trifoliate, placed on a pole, with a hat,
cords and green tassels. Twelve flakes are arranged six on each side, in three orders of
1, 2, 3.

The origin and use of green hats for patriarchs, archbishops and bishops is
believed to derive from Spain, where, in the Middle Ages, prelates used a prelate green
hat. For this reason, the shields of bishops, archbishops and patriarchs are stamped
with a green hat.

The most excellent and reverend archbishops stamp the shield, attached to a
patriarchal processional cross of gold, trifoliate, placed on a pole, with a hat, cords and
tassels of green. Twenty flakes are arranged ten on each side, in four orders of 1, 2, 3,
4.

The most excellent and most reverend patriarchs stamp the shield, attached to a
patriarchal processional cross of gold, trifoliate, placed on a pole, with a hat, cords and
tassels of green.

The thirty flakes are arranged fifteen on each side, in five orders of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
[5].

The most eminent and most reverend cardinals of the Holy Roman Church stamp
the shield, attached to a patriarchal processional cross of gold, trifoliate, placed on a
pole, with the hat, cords and tassels of red. The flakes in number of thirty are arranged
fifteen on each side, in five orders of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

In fact, in 1245, during the Council of Lyon, Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254)

granted the cardinals a hat of red, as a particular badge of honor and recognition among
the other prelates, to be used on horseback riding in the city. He prescribed it in red to
admonish them to always be ready to shed their blood to defend the freedom of the
Church and the Christian people. And it is for this reason that since the 13th century the
cardinals have stamped their shield with a red hat, decorated with cords and tassels of
the same color.

Finally, the most eminent and most reverend cardinal chamberlain of the Holy
Roman Church wears the shield with the same hat as the other cardinals, but stamped
with the papal banner, during munere, that is, during the vacant apostolic see. The
papal banner or papal banner, also called basilica, is in the shape of an umbrella with
red and yellow gussets with pendants cut in vajo and contrasting colors, supported by a
spear-shaped rod with the stop and is crossed by the pontifical keys one in gold and the
other in silver, decussed, leaning, with the wits facing upwards, tied with a red ribbon.

The same colors of green or red must also be used in the ink of the seals and in
the coats of arms shown in the deeds, the latter with the required conventional signs
indicating the enamels.

The Old and New Testaments, the Patristics, the legendary saints, the Liturgy
have offered the Church, over the centuries, the most varied themes for its symbols,
destined to become heraldic figures.

Almost always these symbols allude to pastoral or apostolic tasks of

ecclesiastical institutes, both secular and regular, or they tend to indicate the mission of
the clergy, recall ancient traditions of worship, memories of patron saints, pious local
devotions.

THE GLAZES
One of the fundamental rules governing heraldry asserts that those who have
less have more, with regard to the composition of the enamels, figures and positions of
the shield.

And the weapon that we are now going to examine is composed of gold and
silver metals and the colors of red and blue.

Looking for your own coat of arms, therefore, the real one, which you can raise
as a banner, with which to mark your cards, fully understand the symbols, is it not, in
some way, to seek yourself, your image, your dignity?

This is how an act, which could only be read formally, can instead acquire a
symbolic and strongly pregnant meaning.

Gold and silver, red and blue, therefore, are the enamels that appear in the coat
of arms of Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Chap., But what symbols do these
enamels enclose and release, what messages do they derive from them, often
bewildered, now in the 21st century?

The "metals", of gold and silver, heraldically represent and recall the ancient
armor of the knights which, according to the respective degree of nobility, were in fact
gilded or silvered; gold is also a symbol of divine royalty while silver alludes to Mary.
 The "color" of blue, on the other hand, recalls the sea crossed by the Crusaders
to reach the Holy Land.

Going more specifically into the heraldic symbolism of the "enamels", we recall
that among the "metals", gold represents the Faith among the virtues, the sun among
the planets, the lion in the zodiac signs, July between the months, Sunday between the
days of the week, topaz among precious stones, adolescence up to twenty years of age
between man, sunflower among flowers, seven among numbers and himself among
metals; silver represents Hope among the virtues, the moon among the planets, cancer
in the zodiac signs, June between the months, Monday between the days of the week,
the pearl among precious stones, water among the elements, the infancy up to seven
years between the ages of man, the phlegmatic among temperaments, the lily among
flowers, the two among numbers and himself among metals.

Among the "colors", however, the red, considered by many heraldists, the first
among the colors of the arms, because it represented the living blood shed by the
crusaders, symbolizes Charity among the theological virtues, Mars among the planets,
Aries and Scorpio in the zodiac signs, March and October between the months,
Wednesday between the days of the week, the ruby among the precious stones, the fire
among the elements, autumn between the seasons, virility up to fifty years between the
ages of man, the sanguine among the temperaments, the carnation among the flowers,
the three among the numbers and the copper among the metals.

The red: “represents the fire among the elements, the ruby among the precious
stones; and symbolizes love of God and neighbor, truthfulness, bloodshed in war,
desire for revenge, audacity, valor, fortitude, magnanimity, generosity, grandeur,
conspicuous nobility, and domination. It is also a reminder of the East and overseas
expeditions, as well as demonstrating justice, cruelty and anger. Ignescunt Irae, said
Virgil. Finally, since by the ancients it was consecrated to Mars, it means outbursts of
fearless, grandiose and strong soul. The Spaniards call the red field sangriento, that is,
bloody, because it recalls the battles against the Moors. We find a similar name in
Germany in the blütige Fahne, vexillum, cruentum, an all-red field without any figure,
which indicates the royalties, and is found in the arms of Prussia, of Anhalt, etc. Red is
one of the two most used colors in blazon with blue; but it is more frequently found in
the arms of Burgundian, Norman, Gascon, Brettish, Spanish, English, Italian and Polish
families ... In flags, red represents daring and valor, and it seems to have been adopted
in the beginning by the fire worshipers "[6 ].

The blue, typically Marian enamel, represents Justice among the virtues, Jupiter
among the planets, Taurus and Libra in the zodiac signs, April and September between
the months, Tuesday between the days of the week, sapphire among the precious
stones , the air among the elements, the summer between the seasons, childhood up to
fifteen between the ages of man, the choleric among the temperaments, the rose
among the flowers, the six among the numbers and the pond among the metals.

We would like to underline that it was also necessary to create conventional

signs to understand and identify the "enamels" of the shield, when the emblem is
reproduced in the seals and in the black and white prints. Thus the heraldists, over time,
used various systems; for example, they wrote in the various fields occupied by
enamels, the initial of the first letter corresponding to the color of the enamel, or they
identified the colors by writing the first seven letters of the alphabet or, again they
reproduced, again in the enamel fields, the first seven cardinal numbers.

In the seventeenth century, the French heraldist Vulson de la Colombière instead

proposed special conventional signs to recognize the color of the enamels in the shields
reproduced in black and white. The heraldist Father Silvestro di Pietrasanta of the
Society of Jesus was the first to use it in his work Tesserae gentilitiae ex legibus
fecialium descriptae, thus spreading its knowledge and use.

This classification system, still used today, identifies red with dense
perpendicular lines, blue with horizontal lines, green with diagonals from left to right,
purple with diagonals from right to left, black with crossed horizontal and vertical lines,
while the gold becomes dotted and silver without hatching.

To represent the "natural" color some heraldists foresee other conventional

signs, but we intend to embrace the thesis of the heraldist Goffredo di Crollalanza
where, for the "natural" color, after having remembered that it can be placed on metal
and on color indifferently without infringing the law of the overlapping of enamels, he
clarifies that it is expressed in the drawings by leaving the piece blank and shading the
figure in suitable places [7].

The distinguished heraldist Archbishop Msgr. Bruno Bernard Heim, who in the
pontifical coats of arms of Popes John XXIII and John Paul I designed by him, in those
reproduced in black and white, in the patriarchal head of Venice depicts the lion of
March without any conventional sign, in the presence of one of the most famous and
beautiful.

THE FIGURES

The Dove.
 "The Holy Spirit is almost always represented in the form of a dove, as in the
Annunciation, in the depictions of the Trinity and in other scenes of religious inspiration"
[8].

"When Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened above him, 'and he saw the
Spirit of God descend like a dove and come upon him' (Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10). The dove is
the Father's Word of love, which has become visible in his incarnate Son. 'I saw the
Spirit descend like a dove from heaven' (Jn 1:32) "[9].

Bird well known in heraldry for the symbology related to messages of peace (…)
It enjoys a good presence in religious heraldic symbolism as a representation of the
Holy Spirit.

"Heraldically, the dove symbolizes chaste and pure love, conjugal peace,
fruitfulness" [10].

In the coat of arms of Father Raniero, the dove is a radiant figure, symbolizing
the Holy Spirit and flying [11]

The Franciscan leader

In the "head" [12] of the shield is the coat of arms of the Order of the Capuchin
Friars Minor.

The Franciscan Order, which aims to "live the Gospel in the Church according to
the model observed and proposed by St. Francis of Assisi and preach it to every
creature" [13] and raises as a coat of arms: "silver (or blue) on the bare arm of Christ
placed on the cross of Saint Andrew on the arm dressed in the cassock of Francis, the
hand of which bears the stigmata; from the meeting the natural cross is born ".

Sometimes, the moving cross from the meeting of the arms is represented in
black, or, as the miniaturist heraldist Enzo Parrino represented in the specific case, in
red [14].

According to St. Bonaventure, creator of the Franciscan coat of arms, the arms
both belong to St. Francis, depicted in the act of blessing his brothers, in the power and
name of the Crucifix, from which the cross is born. There is also an interesting and
singular anecdote, which is invoked to explain the reason for the two arms, one naked
and the other dressed. In 1213-1214, San Francesco was hosted in the castle of Susa
by Beatrice of Geneva, wife of Count Tommaso I of Savoy. On that occasion, the
countess donated land to the saint so that a convent could be built there. As a sign of
gratitude, to satisfy the wish of the benefactress who asked him for a souvenir, the saint
of Assisi took off a sleeve from his cassock and gave it to him. Thus it was that, during
the long return journey, everyone saw Francis with one naked arm and the other
dressed, and so they were blessed by him with arms in the shape of a cross [15].

It should be noted that, over time, the use of loading clouds that support the two
arms has become widespread, which in heraldry is blazoned with: "all motive from silver
clouds".

In the first two centuries the Franciscan Order did not have its own heraldic coat
of arms, while we know that Saint Francis used the Tau (T) as a sign of the cross in the
scriptures. The Tau refers to the Angel who, in the Bible, marks the elect with this
symbol to be immune from the scourges.

In the 14th century the Franciscans, calling themselves cordiglieri or cordigeri,

use the knotted cord, which they wear on their habit, as their distinctive sign. The
hands, placed in decusse, are found in stone form in the sacristy of the convent of San
Francesco del Deserto, Venice, bearing the date 1499.

Also in the fifteenth century, on a back of a bench in the minority church of

Celano, the symbol of the sons of St. Francis is inlaid in an oval formed by the
Franciscan cord, with two arms in decusse loaded; the one, on the heraldic right, of St.
Francis, with the habit, holding a cross and patent, while, on the heraldic left, the
complexion arm of Christ, with the stigmatized hand and in the act of blessing.

In this regard, the heraldist Father Leone Bracaloni O.F.M. asserts that the
meaning is already clear from this archaic type; it is the idea of the conformity of St.
Francis with Jesus Christ symbolized by the approaching of the two stigmatized arms;
where, however, the distinction of dignity between the two is well expressed, with the
authoritative gesture of the divine arm, in the act of blessing, and the standard-bearer
note, in supporting the cross, in the other of St. Francis.

At the end of the fifteenth century the two arms in decusse, that of Christ,
covered by a sleeve of tight cloth, and that of St. officially introduced, as a sign and
symbol of identification, in the Franciscan Order.

Over time we find other variations, for example, to the head, between the two
arms, an old-fashioned crown, or, again, the two arms loaded on a heart, until we find
the Latin cross that comes from the union, in decusse, of the two arms [16].
 The Order of Capuchin Friars Minor, born from the reform of 1525, has, however,
as its purpose: "the Imitation of Christ, in asceticism and in the apostolate, according to
the strictest Franciscan tradition" [17], and carries the the same heraldic symbol of the
other Orders of Friars Minor, "but in the seventeenth century the general proxy added
the dove on the head" [18].

However, we have not found this new heraldic figure in the numerous coats of
arms of the Capuchins that we have seen, so we believe it has soon faded.

Like man, so the symbol is also what it was to be authentically what it will be.

It is therefore necessary to remember and hope for this very rich and
inexhaustible source, which it is still possible to draw on for our today.

Giorgio ALDRIGHETTI

November 17, 2020

in the memory of St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Blazon and exegesis by the heraldist Giorgio Aldrighetti of Chioggia (Venice), ordinary
member of the Italian Genealogical Heraldic Institute.

The miniatures of the coat of arms in color and black and white - with the expected
conventional signs indicating the enamels - are by the heraldist ENZO PARRINO,
Monterotondo (ROME).

[1] Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica, Città del Vaticano 1999, p. 335.

[2] A. Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo - A. Pompili, Manuale di Araldica Ecclesiastica,

Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2016, p. 18.

[3] P. F. degli Uberti, Gli Stemmi Araldici dei Papi degli Anni Santi, Ed. Piemme, s. d.

[4] da L’Osservatore Romano, 31 marzo 1969.

[5] L’araldista Sua Ecc.za Rev. ma mons. Bruno Bernard Heim per lo stemma
patriarcale così recita: “I patriarchi ornano il loro scudo con un cappello di color verde
dal quale scendono due cordoni pure verdi che terminano in quindici fiocchi verdi per
ciascun lato”.
B. B. Heim, L’Araldica della Chiesa Cattolica, origini, usi, legislazione, Città del Vaticano
2000, p. 106.

[6] G. Crollalanza (di), Enciclopedia araldico-cavalleresca, Pisa 1886, pp. 516-517, voce
Rosso.

[7] Ibidem, p. 28, voce Al naturale.

[8] H. Biedermann, Enciclopedia dei simboli, Munchen 1989, pag. 129, voce colomba.

[9] M. Lurker, Dizionario delle Immagini e dei Simboli Biblici, Cinisello Balsamo (Milano)
1990, p. 57, voce Colomba.

[10] L. Caratti di Valfrei, Dizionario di Araldica, Milano 1997, p. 90, voce Colomba.

[11] Di figura animata in atto di volare della quale deve essere sempre blasonata la
direzione. (A. Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo - A. Pompili, Manuale di Araldica
Ecclesiastica, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2016, p. 204, voce Volante.

[12] “Pezza onorevole che occupa la parte, più alta di uno scudo delimitata da una linea
retta orizzontale posta a un terzo dell’altezza dello scudo. (L. Caratti di Valfrei,
Dizionario di Araldica, Milano 1997, p. 48, voce Capo).

[13] Annuario Pontificio, Libreria Editrice vaticana, 1996, p. 1429.

[14] Giebens S., Lo Stemma Francescano - Origine e sviluppo. Ist. Storico dei
Cappuccini, Roma 2009.

[15] Zamagni G., Il Valore del Simbolo. Il Ponte Vecchio, Cesena 2003.

[16] Bracalon F., Lo stemma francescano nell’arte, “Studi Francescani”, N.S. anno VII
(XVIII) n.1, Arezzo, Gennaio-Marzo 1921, pp. 221-226.

[17] Annuario Pontificio, Libreria Editrice vaticana, 1996, p. 1430.

[18] Bascapè G.C. - Del Piazzo M., con la collaborazione di Borgia L., Insegne e
simboli. Araldica pubblica e privata medioevale e moderna, Roma 1983, p. 359.