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Pope Francis' coat of arms and motto...

The new Pope's coat of arms and motto have been revealed.
He has chosen to keep those he used as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, with the arms slightly amended to reflect his new role as Pope (the insertion of the crossed keys).

The blue shield and gold star reflect his devotion to Mary. The Jesuit symbol in the centre symbolises Christ at the centre of his life and also his membership of the Society of Jesus, and the symbol on the bottom left, initially mistaken for a bunch of grapes, represents the Nard flower - a symbol of St Joseph in Spanish-speaking countries.

Francis’ papal motto, displayed with the coat of arms, is also the same as the one he used as a bishop; it is “miserando atque eligendo,” which in Latin means “by having mercy, by choosing him.” It is taken from a homily of the Venerable Bede on the call of St. Matthew: “Jesus saw the tax collector and by having mercy chose him as an Apostle saying to him: Follow me.”

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Pope Francis

A Prayer for the Holy Father

O God, source of all knowledge and goodness, look with favor upon your servant, whom you have chosen to shepherd your Church here on earth. Give him wisdom and courage, strength and health, compassion and knowledge. Keep him close to you as he guides the flock you have entrusted to him. Grant him by his word and example to be a faithful and holy leader and keep him in your care now and all the days of his life. Amen.

 

“Dear brothers and sisters,

Good evening. You know that the duty of the Conclave was to give Rome a bishop. It seems that my brother cardinals picked him from almost the ends of the earth. But here we are! I thank you for the warm welcome. The diocesan community of Rome has its bishop. Thank you! First and foremost I would like to say a prayer for our Bishop Emeritus Benedict XVI. Let us pray together for him, that the Lord bless him and the Virgin keep him.”

After leading the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Gloria, Pope Francis again addressed the crowd saying:

“And now let us begin this journey, bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which is the one that leads all the churches in charity. A journey of fraternity, of trust between us. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the world so that this might be a great brotherhood. I hope that this journey of the Church that we begin today, and in which my Cardinal Vicar here present will assist me, will be fruitful for the evangelization of this beautiful city.”

“Now I would like to impart the blessing, but first, first I ask a favor of you. Before the bishop blesses the people, I ask that you pray to the Lord that He bless me: the prayer of the people asking a blessing for their bishop. Let us pray in silence, this your prayer for me.”

“Now I will impart the blessing to you and all the world, to all men and women of good will.”

After imparting the apostolic blessing Pope Francis added: “Brothers and sisters, I take my leave. Thank you for your warm welcome. Tomorrow I'm going to pray to the Virgin, that she will safeguard all of Rome. Good night and rest well.”

Click links for more information from VIS:

CARDINAL BERGOGLIO ELECTED TO PONTIFICATE

 

WHO IS JORGE MARIO BERGOGLIO?

The Diocese of Motherwell was erected as a Suffragan See of the Archdiocese of Glasgow by the Apostolic Constitution Maxime interest of the 25th May 1947.

Since its foundation our diocese has both grown and decreased in size. However in recent years a large number of new housing developments, and thus the arrival of many young families who have taken up residency in the diocese, are giving us new hope of life in the future.

We hope this web site maybe of interest to you. Whether you know our Diocese well and are just looking for further information, or it has been a while since last you visited the Diocese, or you may just be surfing and have found us by accident - either way, we hope you find something of use to yourself.

Lastly, we pray that we may face that future in the same spirit as our forefathers confident that, with God's continued help and our efforts, his work in the Diocese of Motherwell may be accomplished for many years to come.

All correspondence should be addressed to the: chancellor@rcdom.org.uk