Blazon: Arms impaled. Dexter: Sable, three Latin crosses bottom Or, debruised at base with as many elephants’ heads erased Argent; in chief a crescent of the last. Sinister: Azure, at the honor point a latin cross Argent, interlaced at the center a roundel Or, at the nombril point a carpenter’s square of the last, to dexter the Keys of St. Peter, Proper and in sinister a star of the second.
Significance: The episcopal heraldic achievement, or bishop’s coat of arms, is composed of a shield, with its charges (symbols), a motto scroll and the external ornaments. The shield, which is the central and most important feature of any heraldic device, is described (blazoned) in 12th century terms, that are archaic to our modern language, and this description is done as if being given by the bearer with the shield being worn on the arm. Thus, it must be remembered, where it applies, that the terms dexter and sinister are reversed as the device is viewed from the front.
By heraldic tradition, the arms of the bishop of a diocese, called the “Ordinary,” are joined to the arms of his jurisdiction, seen in the dexter impalement (left side) of the shield. In this case, these are arms of the Diocese of Camden.
These arms are composed of a black field on which are placed three silver elephants’ heads, which are arms derived from the arms of Charles Pratt, First Earl of Camden and Lord Chancellor of England, and for whom the See City is named. In 1773 Jacob Cooper, a descendant of William Cooper, laid-out a town and named it for Lord Camden in commemoration of his friend, as strong defender of American colonial rights.
Three golden crosses accompany the elephants’ heads, in honor of the Blessed Trinity and it affords a “difference” to make the shield peculiar to the Diocese of Camden. The Coat of Arms of Most Reverend Joseph Anthony Galante, J.C.D., D.D. Bishop of Camden Above the conjoined elephant heads and crosses is a silver crescent to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary in her title of the Immaculate Conception, titular of the Cathedral-Church in Camden. For his personal arms, seen in the sinister impalement (right side) of the shield, His Excellency, Bishop Galante has retained the design that was adopted at the time of his selection to receive the fullness of Sacred Orders as he became Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio.
The design continued to be used during his tenure as Bishop of Beaumont, as Coadjutor Bishop of Dallas and now as Bishop of Camden. The background of the shield, known of as a field, is blue to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary; Mother of the Church and mother of us all. At the upper center, known as the “honor point,” is a silver (white) cross interlaced by a gold (yellow) ring. This is a representation of “consecrated life” to signify the Bishop’s service (nearly 24 years) to those in the religious life.
The ring, emblematic of the “wedding ring,” shows that the consecrated person is the spouse of Christ, avowed to a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. In the base of the Bishop’s design is a gold carpenter’s square to honor the Bishop’s Baptismal patron, Saint Joseph. In the left side of the design are the crossed silver and gold keys known as the Keys of Saint Peter (one silver and one gold; blazoned as “Proper,” or as they always appear) to signify Bishop Galante’s service to the Holy See and to the Holy Father, in Rome, as Undersecretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The keys are opposite a silver star, taken from the arms of the Bishop’s home diocese of Philadelphia.
The star is also emblematic of the “Lone Star State,” where Bishop Galante has served most of his years as a bishop. For his motto His Excellency, Bishop Galante retains the phrase “HAVE THE MIND OF JESUS.” This brief phrase is a variation on St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (Phil. 5:2) which reads, “In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus.” By the use of this phrase, Bishop Galante expresses his firm belief that each of us, as followers of Jesus Christ, must have our minds, our attitudes and our lives totally in conformity with the life and teachings and person of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The device is completed with the external ornaments which are a gold episcopal processional cross, which is placed in back of the shield and which extends above and below the shield, and a 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: Deacon Paul J. Sullivan
Permanent Deacon of the Diocese of Providence.