When an archbishop is appointed to lead an archdiocese, the coat of arms is composed of several key elements.
The episcopal heraldic achievement, or, as it is more commonly known, the archbishop’s coat of arms, is composed of a shield with its charges (symbols) 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. From the viewpoint of the one behind the armor, the sides or impalements of the shield are labeled dexter (right) and sinister (left). The next element of the coat of arms is the archbishop’s motto.
The seal of the Archdiocese of Mobile (left side) depicts a blue background on which is a silver (white) crescent moon toward the bottom. This is a symbol of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception which is the titular of the cathedral-basilica. From this crescent springs a rosebush that has three roses. The blossoms, leaves and stem are all gold (yellow).
The personal coat of arms of Archbishop Rivituso symbolizes his origins, his personal devotion, and the place in which he has spent his ministry as a priest and auxiliary bishop. The shield is blue with a gold (yellow) cross with the ends of the arms terminating in fleurs-de-lis borrowed from the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, where the Archbishop served as both a priest and auxiliary bishop.
At the bottom of the cross is a silver (white) crescent moon with a scattering of 12 silver (white) stars on either side. This alludes to Our Lady under her title of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States. In the Book of Revelation, she is described as having the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head.
In addition, the crescent is placed near the bottom of the cross to signify Mary at the foot of the cross, where Jesus asked St. John to care for her. In giving His mother to His Beloved Disciple, Christ also gave her to all of us as the Mother of the Church. In addition, the crescent and 12 stars symbolize the twelve apostles along with Mary, the Queen of the Apostles.
The device is completed with external ornaments, including a gold processional cross, which is placed in the back of the shield and which extends above and below the shield, and a pontifical hat, called a “gallero,” with its 10 tassels, in four rows, on either side of the shield, all in green. These are the heraldic insignia of a prelate of the rank of archbishop by instruction of the Holy See of March 31, 1969.
On a scroll below the shield is the Archbishop’s motto, “The Love of Christ Impels Us” (“Caritas Christi Urget Nos,”) taken from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 5; verse 14). It means that as Christians and believers in Jesus as the Christ in all that we do and are the love of Christ impels us.
The coat of arms of Archbishop Rivituso was originally assumed upon becoming auxiliary bishop of St. Louis in 2017. It has now been marshaled to those of the Archdiocese of Mobile and emblazoned by Father Guy Selvester, a priest of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey. Father Selvester is a Fellow of the American College of Heraldry and also of the American Heraldry Society. He also prepared the coat of arms of Archbishop Rivituso’s predecessor, Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi, in 2008.
