The gold (yellow) and red from the shield represents those used by St. Peter’s Seminary, London, Ont., while the red and blue from the shield represent the City of London.
The charges on the shield symbolize the following:
Keys are found in the coats of arms of the bishop’s home diocese of London and in the shield used by St. Peter’s Seminary where he ministered as an educator and served as rector for many years. A key opens a lock and so is a fitting symbol for education and here celebrates the bishop’s role in the training of priests at St. Peter’s Seminary. Keys are also an attribute of St. Peter (Matthew 16.19) and so may be taken to represent the papacy and the Roman Catholic Church.
The wards and the bows have been embellished with the traditional emblem of Ireland, the trefoil or shamrock, and indicates his ancestry. The trefoil is also a symbol for the Holy Trinity.
Bishop McGrattan's coat of arms
By Catholic Register Staff
{mosimage}The field of the shield is divided into sections by a heraldic division called a saltire enhanced. This reflects the form of the traditional arms of the name McGrattan.
In the “X” is also seen the Greek letter Chi which is the first letter in the Greek for Christ.
In the “X” is also seen the Greek letter Chi which is the first letter in the Greek for Christ.
Please support The Catholic Register
Unlike many media companies, The Catholic Register has never charged readers for access to the news and information on our website. We want to keep our award-winning journalism as widely available as possible. But we need your help.
For more than 125 years, The Register has been a trusted source of faith-based journalism. By making even a small donation you help ensure our future as an important voice in the Catholic Church. If you support the mission of Catholic journalism, please donate today. Thank you.
DONATE