Lilies and Swords

Arms of St. Joseph's Academy, St. Paul, MN.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

In 1851, the Sisters of St. Joseph established St. Joseph's Academy in St. Paul, MN and would later enlist Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941) to design a proper coat of arms for the school.  Created in 1927, la Rose blazoned the arms:  Azure, a semme of Madonna lilies Argent, on a sword in pale Or with hilt in base, an open book edged with two clasps Or inscribed Suboles Doctrinae Pietas (“Reverence, Scion of Scholarship”). 

A library print of the Academy's arms from St. Joseph Academy (1971).
From the Author's private collection.

I remember well when I stumbled upon these arms years ago, utterly fascinated by la Rose's semme work with the lilies.  A striking design for the Sister's school.

Learning how to recreate la Rose's design in vector format presented some challenges.  The library print above was my only guide and I struggled to figure out how to make the semme of lilies work.    After learning what a "clipping mask," is and how to use it, bam we have semme!  

The design incorporates the lilies to reference the Sisters of St. Joseph, and the sword in pale geographically locates the academic institution in St. Paul, MN.  Simple, clear, and perspicuous heraldry at its finest.  La Rose's ability to abstractly illustrate multiple data points in one harmonious design is truly his gift to US corporate heraldry--setting a standard without the need for quartered arms littered with multiple charges as so often seems to be the case in scholastic heraldry.

I simply love this design.

Works Cited

St. Joseph Academy. (1971).  School of happy memories: A pictorial history 1851-1971.  Privately printed.