Slight changes to Pope Francis’s coat of arms

March 28, 2013

The Vatican’s web site has posted a new version of Pope Francis’s coat of arms.

The star, which represents the Blessed Virgin Mary, now has eight points instead of five; Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, the Archpriest Emeritus of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, explained that an eight-pointed star typically represents the Blessed Mother in Catholic heraldry.

The spikenard flower, which represents St. Joseph, now looks less like a cluster of grapes, and the papal motto -- miserando atque eligendo (literally, “by having mercy and choosing”) -- now appears in a banner.

 

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Further information:

• Lo Stemma di Papa Francesco (L’Osservatore Romano)
• Same symbols, different details: Papal coat of arms undergoes changes (CNS)
• Vatican explains coat of arms of Pope Francis (CWN, 3/19)
• First version of coat of arms (CCCB, 3/18)