Most Reverend Richard Garth Henning

Tenth Bishop

Seventh Metropolitan Archbishop of Boston



BLAZON

Arms impaled. In the dexter: Azure, a Latin cross fleurettee Or, in base barry wavy of five Azure and Argent, issuing therefrom a mound of three coupeaux Or; In the sinister: Azure, within a bordure parted wavy Argent and Gules an escallop shell Argent. The shield is ensigned with an archiepiscopal cross Or and an archbishop's galero with cords and 20 tassels flanking the shield disposed in four rows of one, two, three and four all Vert. On a scroll below the shield is the motto, "Put Out Into The Deep."



EXPLANATION:

The armorial bearings of Archbishop Richard Henning impale the coat of arms of his archiepiscopal See with his personal coat of arms. These evoke his birthplace, his ministry, and his personal devotion. The coat of arms is composed of a shield with its charges (symbols), a motto, and external ornamentation. The shield is described (blazoned) in terms that are archaic to our modern language, and this description is presented as if given by the bearer with the shield being worn on the arm. Thus, where it applies, the terms dexter (right) and sinister (left) are reversed as the device is viewed from the front.

It is customary in heraldry that the arms of a Diocesan Bishop are joined side by side on the same shield with the arms of his See. In this case, these are the arms of the Archdiocese of Boston. Such marshaling is called impalement and employs the same method used when joining the coats of arms of two people who are married. In this way, the coat of arms, like the episcopal ring, is symbolic of the archbishop being "married" to his archdiocese.

The arms of the Archdiocese of Boston are composed of a blue field on which are placed a gold (yellow) cross fleurettee, that is a Latin cross the arms of which are decorated at the ends with fleurs-de-lis. This is in honor of the titular of the cathedral, the Holy Cross, as well as the first Bishop of Boston (Jean-Louis Anne Madelain Lefebvre de Cheverus) being from France. The cross is above a gold (yellow) mound composed of three smaller hills as a reference to Boston's original name: Trimountaine which is, itself, a reference to the three hills on which the city is said to have been built. At the bottom, the five wavy lines of blue and silver (white) alludes to Boston being a port city and that it is populated by people who arrived here from across the sea.

Bishop Henning's personal coat of arms is composed of a design depicted in red (Gules), white (Argent), and blue (Azure), which are the national colors of the United States.

Both the blue background and the single escallop shell allude to the sea as evoking the bishop's own background and the shell is also borrowed from the coat of arms of the See of Rockville Centre, the diocese in which he was born and raised and which he served as a priest and auxiliary bishop. In addition, this same field of blue also recalls the blue field of the coat of arms of the See of Providence, where he served as coadjutor bishop and later diocesan bishop. The shell image also recalls the bishop's heritage in the Diocese of Brooklyn, dedicated to its patron, St. James. The episcopal ordination of Bishop Henning took place on the eve of the feast of St. James. In concert with the bishop's motto, the shell is a traditional symbol of baptism and pilgrimage. It is in the depths of these waters that Christians find their salvation in Jesus Christ.

The white wavy line surrounding the blue field is also taken from the arms of Rockville Centre and it alludes to the diocese's location on Long Island, New York. Furthermore, it indicates the sea as the place where the barque of St. Peter, an image used to evoke the Church, is located.

The blue background also evokes the bishop's devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his years of service as a professor and rector at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, N.Y. The red wavy portion of the border evokes the bishop's devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and his former service as the director of the Sacred Heart Institute for the Ongoing Formation of the Catholic Clergy.

The external ornaments include a gold archiepiscopal cross with two horizontal bars (sometimes referred to as a patriarchal cross) placed vertically behind the shield decorated with red jewels. This is often mistaken for a processional cross like the one used in liturgical processions. However, like other heraldic ornaments, the archiepiscopal cross has its origins in something which is no longer actually used. At one time, all bishops had, in addition to the processional cross at the head of the procession, another cross carried directly in front of them by a cleric. This other cross was a sign of the office of bishop. It originated as a custom that such a cross was carried before archbishops only. Later, the cross was adopted for use by all bishops so archbishop's added a second horizontal bar to their crosses to distinguish them from the episcopal cross of simple bishops. While no longer actually used, it has remained a symbol of the archiepiscopal office in heraldry.

Similarly, the broad-brimmed green galero was, at one time, worn by bishops in outdoor processions and cavalcades. No longer used, it remains a heraldic symbol of the office of bishop and takes the place of the helmet, mantling, and crest that would appear in the coat of arms of a layman. In Catholic heraldry, the color and number of tassels on the galero indicates the rank of the bearer. The double barred archiepiscopal cross and the green galero with 20 tassels signifies the coat of arms of an archbishop according to the instruction of the Holy See, "Ut Sive," issued in 1969.

The motto chosen by Archbishop Henning appears on a scroll below the shield. "Put Out Into The Deep," which is taken from Luke 5:4.



The coat of arms of Archbishop Henning was originally designed and emblazoned in 2018 by Father Guy Selvester, a priest of the Diocese of Metuchen. He also marshaled the coat of arms to those of the See of Providence in 2023 and has similarly now marshaled the archbishop's personal arms to those of the See of Boston. Father Selvester is a fellow of the American College of Heraldry and also of the American Heraldry Society.

Aug. 31, 2024