Friday, May 13, 2005
THE GLORY OF THE OLIVE ?
That is what St. Malachi dubbed the current pope.
A reader sent in this information about Archbishop Levada's ancestors and his coat of arms.
From the diocesan website:
His great-grandparents immigrated to the San Francisco Bay area from Portugal and Ireland in the 1860's.
His great-grandparents immigrated to the San Francisco Bay area from Portugal and Ireland in the 1860's.
Then down near the bottom:
The shield is divided in two in a heraldic device called marshalling, or the combining of two coats of arms. On the left side, we see the insignia of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The crossed arms of Christ and St. Francis of Assisi are a classical representation of St. Francis. On the right is the personal coat of arms of Archbishop Levada. These arms are composed with the three main colors of the Portuguese flag: red, gold (yellow) and green. The olive tree is taken from the arms of the Oliveira family, from which the name of Levada is derived. Above the tree is a red cross which is common in monastic arms and is used to honor the Archbishop's baptismal patron, St. William, who was an abbot. (emphasis mine)
Of course, as with all prophecy, unless the Church makes a pronouncement, it can only be evaluated in terms of whether or not it comes true.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
