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Coat of Arms of Bishop
Macaluso
For his personal arms
Bishop Macaluso has selected a design that reflects his life as
a priest and as a Bishop. The entire design is placed on a blue
shield, reflecting his devotion to the Blessed Mother.
In the main portion of
the design there are three symbols that are of particular importance
to the Bishop. The most central is the cross of our faith, represented
in what is called "a cross formy." This format of the
cross is the type that was used on the invitation and prayer cards
that were used for the priestly ordination of Bishop Macaluso, and
so it is particularly appropriate as he receives the fullness of
Christ's priesthood as a bishop.
This cross is placed
below two other charges that have come to make Bishop Macaluso the
person that he is. These are the gold lion of Saint Thomas Seminary,
where the Bishop served as Rector, and the gold "hart,"
holding the silver banner of Christ, for which the city and the
See of Hartford are named and which Bishop Macaluso has served for
all of his priestly ministry.
The silver wavy barlets,
that signify the water at the "ford" of Hartford, recognize
the impact that water has had on the Bishop's life and on his heritage.
By means of water we enter the Body of Christ in Baptism. Water
is also very much a part of the lives of those who live, work and
recreate in the Archdiocese of Hartford, located on the Connecticut
River and abutting Long Island Sound.
In the base of the shield
are crossed a silver shamrock and a golden pine cone. These honor
the Irish heritage that His Excellency has received from his mother,
Helen Meaney Macaluso, and the Italian heritage that he has received
from his father, Albert Carl Macaluso. While the use of the shamrock
is rather straightforward, it must be understood that on the Palermo
side of Sicily, especially in the mountain regions, the pine cone,
because it is so rare, is a prize. Used in special cooking the pine
cone has become a symbol of special honor for the people of this
region to which Bishop Macaluso traces his heritage.
For his motto, Bishop
Macaluso has selected the Latin phrase, "VERITAS LIBERABIT
VOS." This phrase, taken from the Gospel of St. John (John
8:32), is translated to express the deepest of Christian beliefs
that "the truth will set you free." For it is in believing,
and in making those beliefs part of our lives, that we become free
from the evils that surround us and try to ensnare us each day,
as we move to the blessed eternity that Christ won for us by his
death on the cross.
Completing the external
ornaments are a gold processional cross in back of the shield which
extends above and below the shield, with the pontifical hat, called
a "gallero," with its six tassels in three rows on either
side of the shield, all in green. These are the heraldic insignia
of a prelate of the rank of bishop by instruction of the Holy See
of March 31, 1969.
By: Paul J. Sullivan,
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Bishop
Macaluso's Office:
134 Farmington Ave., Hartford, CT 06105-3784
Phone: 860-541-6491
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