In My Backyard: The Arms of the Diocese of Richmond

The armorial flag of the Diocese of Richmond.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

I live less than a mile away from the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, Virginia.  This cathedral houses the cathedra, or chair, for the Bishop of the Diocese of Richmond.  Prominently emblazoned on a bronze plaque near the cathedral's west doors is the coat of arms of the diocese, expertly designed in 1913 by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941).  In a weird and unexplainable way, it feels comforting to know la Rose's heraldic work lives on so close to home.  

La Rose had a brilliant marketing scheme to showcase his heraldic work within the Roman Catholic Church.  Through articles he penned in The Ecclesiastical Review, a prominent national publication focusing on scholarly issues in the Church, la Rose would supply engraved images of arms he devised for both prelates and dioceses.  From my review of his articles in The Ecclesiastical Review, la Rose used this channel to both educate and market his methods for heraldic designs--and readers took notice.  

Caricature of la Rose appearing
 in the Boston Sunday Post
(1903 Feb. 15).

Moreover, La Rose saw his landmark commission in 1910 to design arms for the Archbishop of Baltimore,  James Cardinal Gibbons (1834-1921), followed by Archbishop and future Cardinal, William Henry O'Connell (1859-1944) of Boston, as effectively creating a new baseline for establishing unerring heraldry within the US Roman Catholic Church (La Rose, 1911).  

If heraldry in the US during the early 20th century could be a film, perhaps no other genre quite like the old gun-fighting wild western flicks--where the spirit of rugged individualism pervasively dictates one's survival--would seemingly feel an appropriate choice.  

La Rose would be our protagonist, complete with cigarette and a sheriff's badge, fighting it out on the dusty streets of Tombstone to wipe clean the scourge caused by outlawed heraldic "bucket shops."

In La Rose (1920), he offers this view regarding his purpose:  

"Of the fourteen archdioceses in the United States, we now have eight, a majority, equipped with diocesan heraldry, following the ancient precedent reestablished among us ten years ago by their Eminences Cardinal Gibbons and Cardinal O'Connell.  It is to be hoped that eventually the remaining six will follow suit" (41).

La Rose's crusade to convert as many dioceses as possible to employ flawless heraldry--both within the Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholic Church--engendered his life's purpose as a herald.  

The impaled arms of The Most Rev. Denis J. O'Connell,
designed by la Rose in 1913 and appearing in Brassard (1956), page 53.

In 1912, The Most Reverend Denis J. O'Connell (1849-1927) was named Bishop of the Diocese of Richmond and eventually la Rose was enlisted to design arms for both the bishop and the diocese.  O'Connell's impalement of arms containing his personal coat along with the arms of the Diocese of Richmond appeared in la Rose's article in The Ecclesiastical Review (La Rose, 1913).  La Rose designed both arms at the same time, ensuring the continuation of his baseline precedent for sound heraldry. 

For O'Connell's personal coat, La Rose (1913) provides the following blazon and rationale:

"Quarterly 1 and 4, per fess argent and vert between three trefoils counterchanged of the field a stag trippant proper... 

"The Ordinary's impalement [arms of Bishop O'Connell] is the first example among our American bishops of a quartered personal coat meaning precisely what quartering should mean--an armigerous paternal and maternal inheritance.  The Bishop's motto is that of the Wray family" (94).

La Rose pointedly notes the precise method for quartering arms--a heraldic method of combining two coats into a noble arrangement which continues to feverishly affect many American novices of heraldry.   

For the Diocese of Richmond, la Rose created the following blazon: Argent, an orle gules, over all on a bend azure three stars of the field.

For comparison, the arms of
the Borough of
Richmond, England. 
Image is from
Heraldry-wiki.com

When I started my quest to uncover la Rose's heraldry in 2014, one of the first research requests went to the archives of the Diocese of Richmond, these arms were in my backyard and it seemed fitting to begin here.  Following a series of email exchanges, I was asked to provide a brief article for the diocesan archives, describing the origins of the diocese's arms as well as some background information on la Rose.  Little did I know at the time, the Diocese of Richmond would later publish my article in 2019 in concert with the diocese's bicentennial logo competition.  

One interesting data point to consider, and one that I missed earlier in 2014 regarding Richmond's arms.  When devising new arms for dioceses, la Rose frequently incorporated a reference by way of a charge or colors to the dedication of the see's cathedral.  

In checking the history of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, the building's construction began in 1903 and was completed by 1906--well before la Rose's design for the arms of the diocese in 1913 (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 2023 September 16).  La Rose did not use this method of referencing the see's cathedral in the arms of Richmond, and I cannot explain why--a minor detail I missed in my earlier research.  

It's rather amusing to read my work from nearly 10 years ago--I was firmly in my post-seminary writing mode, or a "highly romanticized" style which my doctorate would later calm.  Scholarly writing in the social sciences is quite straightforward given the clinical conventions of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.  

When I begin drafting a book manuscript on la Rose in the coming months, I will be challenged to convert back to my beloved Chicago-style.  I mean, who doesn't enjoy a good footnote?  Below is my article, "Arms of the Diocese of Richmond: Origins and Designs," to peruse.  Dear reader, please forgive me.       

Works Cited

Brassard, G. (1956).  Biographical and heraldic dictionary of the Catholic bishops in America (vol. 2).  Stobbs Press, Inc.

Boston Sunday Post (1903 February 15).  Harvard professors object the side-spitting caricatures of themselves by talented students.  Boston Sunday Post, 26.

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (2023 September 16).  Our cathedral: Cathedral history.  Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. https://www.richmondcathedral.org/our-cathedral/

La Rose, Pierre de C. (1911).  The arms of his Eminence Cardinal Gibbons.  In H.J. Heuser (Ed.), The Ecclesiastical Review, vol. 5(45), pp. 2-11.

La Rose, Pierre de C. (1913).  Recent episcopal arms.  In H.J. Heuser (Ed.), The Ecclesiastical Review, vol. 49(July), pp. 90-96.

La Rose, Pierre de C. (1920).  Recent episcopal coat of arms.  In H.J. Heuser (Ed.), The Ecclesiastical Review, vol. 62(July), 41.