By Andrew Junker | March 19, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

Heraldry, coats of arms and official mottos, while all having a rich Catholic tradition, are not often encountered or dwelt upon by Church members.

Certainly, Fr. Jim Wall, the Phoenix Diocese’s vicar for priests, gave the niceties of heraldry very little thought throughout his decade of priestly ministry. But then, last month, Pope Benedict XVI named him bishop of Gallup, N.M.

All of a sudden, Bishop-elect Wall was thrown into an arcane world filled with terminology like “escutcheon” and “gules.”

Thankfully, he found a knowledgeable guide in Deacon Paul Sullivan of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., who has been helping newly named bishops design their coats of arms since the mid-’70s.

“First of all, I’ll have a telephone conversation with the man,” Deacon Sullivan said. “He and I will talk about who he is, where he comes from, what’s his heritage, does he have any particular patron saints.”

Based on that conversation, the deacon will work up some sketches that he’ll then scan and e-mail to the bishop-elect. Then, they’ll talk again, make some changes, and before long, a new episcopal crest is born.

Bishop-elect Wall was easy to work with, because he already had a firm vision of what he wanted his crest to have.

“I wanted to choose three crosses, because a professor of mine in the seminary used to inspire me. He used to say, ‘Gentlemen, it always comes back to the cross,’” Bishop-elect Wall said.

The bishop-elect’s crest occupies the right side of the shield when looking at it, though in heraldic terms it lies on the sinister or left side. The terminology is a nod to the fact that the correct point of view when regarding a coat of arms is from behind it, like it’s a shield that would actually be carried into battle.

The other side of the shield is filled with the crest of Diocese of Gallup. It also includes three crosses, which represent three early martyrs in the region, as well as a star, which recalls the Blessed Virgin Mary. Like Phoenix, Gallup knows Our Lady of Guadalupe as its patroness.

The largest cross on the bishop-elect’s side of the shield is the cross of St. James the Greater.

“He’s my patron,” Bishop-elect Wall said. “It’s the name I received from my father, and James being one of the first Apostles called was inspiring.”

The cross is red in color — or gules in heraldic terms — which symbolizes the martyrdom St. James underwent.

Beneath St. James’ cross is a blue fleur-de-lis, which is associated with St. Joan of Arc. Its color — azure, for those keeping track — also recalls the Blessed Mother.

“Right before I went into seminary I made a pilgrimage to all the St. Joan of Arc sites, so I have a particular devotion to her,” Bishop-elect Wall explained. “It’s also the name of my mother, who was named after her father, John.”

In a linguistically circuitous way, it’s also how the bishop-elect got his middle name, Sean, which is the Gaelic form of John.

Finally, there is the cross associated with St. Francis of Assisi, a brown tau, named for the Greek letter it resembles. Bishop-elect Wall chose this cross because it was through the Franciscans that his family converted to Catholicism before he was born.

The bishop-elect’s personal crest sits on a yellow or gold background, which represents the color of the Southwest, from which he hails, Deacon Sullivan said.

“Basically, the shield tells you who it belongs to,” the deacon said. What’s around the shield tells the rank of the shield’s owner.

So, the large, broad-brimmed hat known as a galero that floats above the shield tells the viewer that Bishop-elect Wall is a bishop. Its color tells that he is just a bishop — cardinals get a red galero. And the number and arrangement of tassels connected to the galero show that he is a bishop, not an archbishop.

The motto

Just as necessary to a new bishop is his episcopal motto. In the days following his appointment to the see of Gallup, Bishop-elect Wall prayed for guidance in selecting his motto.

He settled on “Estote Factores Verbi,” a Latin phrase that can be translated, “Be doers of the word.” It comes from the epistle of St. James.

“It’s one of my favorite books of the Bible, because it’s a pastoral letter and the center of James, the whole message, is that verse,” Bishop-elect Wall said.

“It means that our faith is not a passive faith. As James expresses it, if we truly want to live out our faith it has to be something that is active,” he said.

The bishop-elect also linked the motto to the fiat of the Blessed Mother, her willingness to let the Lord’s word change her life and direct her actions.

It also points to the kind of far-flung, missionary diocese Bishop-elect Wall will lead.

“I see myself as being very active. I think we have nine people on staff at the chancery, and I expect myself to be out quite a bit with the people,” he said. “I want to keep this at the center of my episcopacy. We receive God’s word; we understand what His will is; and, then we put it into action. That’s just essential.”

And why in Latin and not English?

“The diocese is very multicultural and multilingual as well,” The Bishop-elect said. “It could be in English, Spanish, Navajo or Zuni, but to express the multicultural element of the Church, I thought I’d use the mother tongue of the Church, which is Latin.”

Throughout the process of selecting a crest and motto, Bishop-elect Wall said he’s had time to reflect on his new ministry. Visualizing images can often help in preparing himself for this new responsibility.

“It’s a big part of our faith, symbols,” he said. “People not in the Church might say, ‘That’s a nice design. That’s a nice color.’ But if you look at it through the eyes of faith, it hits you at a much deeper level.”