Wednesday, 13 March 2013

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam!



And let's talk about the one thing I haven't heard the pundits on yet.  No, not papal socks (Red or White anybody?): heraldry!

Here are Francis' pre-papal arms:

File:Coat of arms of Jorge Mario Bergoglio.svg


A pretty uninspiring effort, I think you'd agree. Hopefully the Vatican heralds will pull something better out of the hat.  Efforts for past popes don't bode well though, and most Catholic heraldry is pretty poor to English eyes.

There is an Argentinian blog entry here discussing the significance of the design.  You'll have to excuse the failings of the automatic translation.

The motto is interesting though - 'Lowly, but chosen'. 

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