Heraldry is the art, or science, of hereditary symbolism. As such, the official arms used by Bishop John Michael D’Arcy symbolically describes his background, as well as the heritage of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

The use of heraldic symbols is closely regulated in the church today to guard against, among other things, their use solely for vain or pretentious purposes.

Those rules and customs were first applied in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend when Bishop Leo A. Pursley obtained a decree July 22, 1960, of the Sacred Consistorial Congregation changing the title of the Diocese of Fort Wayne (which was established in 1857) to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and designating St. Matthew’s as a cathedral in South Bend.

The coat of arms is divided vertically into two sections, the one to the viewer’s left representing the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, and the right section representing the Ordinary of the Diocese, Bishop John Michael D’Arcy.

Diocese

The crescent moon represents the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ, “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet.” As the Immaculate Conception, she is patroness of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, and its cathedral in Fort Wayne.

The three crosses represent the Blessed Trinity. The Father sent the Son into the world; the Son sent the Spirit. It was this mission of Son and Spirit through missionaries that brought this diocese into being.

The crosses replace swords on the family crest of General Anthony Wayne, the founder of the fort that grew into the See City of Fort Wayne.

The fortified wall represents Fort Wayne.

The six-winged seraph symbolizes the inspired word of God. St. Matthew is one of the inspired evangelists who recorded this Word. Thus the angel identifies the patron of the cathedral in South Bend. The river bend is expressed in heraldry by a wavy line. This represents the See City of South Bend.

The fleur-de-lis is the lily, symbol of purity and of the chaste foster father of Christ, St. Joseph. It indicates the locale of the See City — the St. Joseph River and valley, and St. Joseph County. As the lily of France, it recalls the colonization of this region by French Catholics.

Ordinary

Bishop D'Arcy's Coat of Arms

The praying hands in the center of Bishop D’Arcy’s shield symbolizes a central part of the Church’s mission — the offering of praise to God the Father in, with and through Christ and the work of spiritual formation and spiritual formation and spiritual direction in which the Bishop has been privileged to be engaged. It also refers to his work for ten years as Vicar for Spiritual Development in the Archdiocese of Boston. The eagle’s head with a halo denotes St. John the Evangelist, “the one Jesus loved” (Jn 20:2) and the baptismal patron of the bishop.

It also recalls the years the bishop has spent at St. John’s Seminary as student, teacher and spiritual director. There are two crescents. One refers to Mary, the woman of faith in whom is found perfect openness to the word of God. It also betokens the eight years the bishop spent in St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Beverly, Mass. — the only parish to which he has been attached. The other crescent symbolizes the Church — the sacrament of Christ.

The shield itself with its semes of crosses, crosslet argent is the shield of the D’Arcy family, a tribe of native Irish stock from the Providence of Connacht. The six-pointed rayed star, known both in Jewish and Christian art, is from the arms of the Moran family of the Bishop’s mother — also from the Providence of Connacht.

The motto: “His steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 118 and 136) expresses briefly an ideal, a program of life, the spirit of the one who selects it. It is also a call to the church and to every person to be reminded of God’s steadfast love even in the midst of pain and sorrow.