Two Corporate Coats Emerge From Black & White

A full color emblazonment of the arms of the Foreign Mission Sisters of Saint Dominic, designed jointly by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose and The Rev. John A. Nainfa, S.S. in 1923.  Image is courtesy of the Maryknoll Mission Archives, September 2023.

In a recent search online, I happened across a pleasant surprise.  The Maryknoll Mission Archives published a rather thorough review of two corporate coats designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941) and his Sulpician heraldic partner in crime, The Rev. John A. Nainfa, S.S. (1878-1938).  Furthermore, the Archives posted full color emblazonments from their collections--a veritable feast for the eyes.  Please click here to read the article by the Maryknoll Mission Archives.

Both of these coats of arms represent a key theme in la Rose's heraldic work.  The "cross in national colors" was an early theme I found in my analysis regarding several designs devised by la Rose.  Please click here to read my article on the theme of the "cross in national colors."  Previously, I had only seen emblazonments of these two coats in black and white, which truly does no justice to their designs.  Seeing these coats in full color, however, proves the "carry power" of these shields, a point la Rose often cited with his new designs, and this is what made me smile.  

A modern emblazonment of the seal and arms for the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, designed in 1917-1918 by The Rev. John A. Nainfa, S.S.  Image is courtesy of the Maryknoll Mission Archives, September 2023.

In La Rose (1918), we learn that la Rose credits the design for the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America to his heraldic partner The Rev. John A. Nainfa, S.S., who was working at the Catholic University of America located in Washington, DC.  Oftentimes, la Rose would lean on Nainfa for historical background when devising new arms for Roman Catholic institutions. 

The arms of the Catholic Foreign
Mission Society
within a seal matrix composed
of a gothic quatrefoil. 
Image source: La Rose (1918), page 193.

La Rose (1918) writes:

"...the arms of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, designed by The Reverend John A. Nainfa, S.S.  Its blazon:  Argent, a cross quarterly azure and gules.  

Here the same idea--the Cross in the national colors--is carried out with admirable directness and decorative simplicity" (193).  

Again, to see this coat in full color is simply stunning.  

In 1923, we would see yet another coat of arms designed along the theme of the "cross in national colors," jointly designed by la Rose and Nainfa.  The arms of the Foreign Mission Sisters of Saint Dominic was featured in a national publication, The Field Afar, as seen below.  

From The Field Afar, September 1923, page 254.  Image is courtesy of the
Maryknoll Mission Archives, September 2023.  Click image to enlarge.  

Based on my research of la Rose's heraldic work, I believe la Rose suggested the gyronny combined with Nainfa's Maryknoll cross for the design.  Furthermore, the painting of the Sisters' arms above in the introduction, was most likely rendered by la Rose--the lettering in the ribbons below the shield match other works by la Rose in my data.  Ecce ancilla domini, or "behold the handmaid of the Lord," is from the Vulgate version of the Gospel of Luke 1:38.  The Annunciation of the Lord is a rather fitting motto representing the work and mission of the Order. 

Finally, the shape of the shield for the Sisters' arms is reflective of one of the six shapes la Rose employed throughout his work--the differences in the two shapes when set side-by-side can be seen in The Field Afar (1923).

The joint attribution in The Field Afar (1923), coupled with Nainfa's credit in La Rose (1918), was most likely la Rose's statement to correct the injustice he endured at the hands of the University of Chicago in 1910.  Please click here to read the story of mistaken identity in the arms of the University of Chicago.  

Arms of the Foreign Mission
Sisters of Saint Dominic appearing
in The Field Afar (1923), page 254.

Why do I assert this belief?  Simply because everything la Rose did served a purpose.  As a student of English and eventually a professor thereof, every word la Rose used mattered.  If memory serves me well, la Rose's attribution of Nainfa in La Rose (1918), was the only instance la Rose illustrated arms created by another herald in the multitude of articles he published in The Ecclesiastical Review.  

The joint attribution in The Field Afar (1923) represents a significant outlier in my data of more than 250 corporate arms designed by la Rose--this case is the only instance of joint attribution.  I am not a conspiracy theorist; the data merely suggests there is much more behind this story of joint attribution. 

Nonetheless, the black and white emblazonment of these arms does not render justice to the splendor of color found upon the shield.  The arms of the Sisters' carry the gyronny of eight representing the order's ties to Saint Dominic as well as the Maryknoll cross in national colors.  The blazon for the arms of the Foreign Mission Sisters of Saint Dominic:  gyronny of eight argent and sable, a cross quarterly azure and gules. 

Heraldry is meant to be rendered in full color;  the identification and "carrying power" of any given coat of arms demands the splendor of colors, metals, and furs.  Thank you Maryknoll Mission Archives for sharing these vividly colored arms in your article.

Works Cited

Conning, S. (2023 September 13).  Coats of arms.  Maryknoll Mission Archives website.  https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/coats-of-arms/

La Rose, Pierre de C. (1918).  Some examples of Catholic corporate heraldry.  In H.J. Heuser (Ed.), The Ecclesiastical Review, vol. 58(February), pp. 189-198.

The Field Afar (1923).  Arms of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America and Foreign Mission Sisters of Saint Dominic.  The Field Afar, vol. 17(9), 254.