Industrious Bees: The Coat of Arms of Archbishop Emilio Cinense

 

The coat of arms of then-Bishop Emilio Cinense of San Fernando, Pampanga.

From the Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas. Rendered by Madriaga.

Today is the episcopal anniversary of the first archbishop of San Fernando, Pampanga, the late Most Rev. Emilio Cinense y Abrera. His coat of arms is one of the simple blazons made by the late Archbishop Mariano Madriaga, but is profound in its intended meaning and on who it represents.

His coat of arms is published in the Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas in 1957, explained in full detail by the Filipino ecclesiastical heraldist, and with the help of Msgr. John Brillantes of EEPH, the coat of arms may be blazoned as: Vert, a rose Gules in between three bees Or, two and one, heads toward the rose.

The coat of arms of Archbishop Cinense impaled with the former corporate arms

of the Archdiocese of San Fernando. Rendered by GiovanniYosh12 in Wikipedia.

• The Vert field is a color alluding to hope, while the rose is a symbol of Our Lady and alludes to the archbishop's Carmelite affiliation as a Tertiary member.

The rest of the explanation has to do with the several meaning of the archbishop’s name “Emilio”.

• Gules, which is the tincture of the rose, alludes to his name derived from the Latin “aemulus” which means “festive, sharp”, further evolved from “aima” which means “blood” according to the Lexicon Totius Latinitatis.
• As for the bees, it alludes to the meaning of the name from Latin origin meaning “vigorous, assiduous” according to the Diccionario Onomatologico, and from Teutonic origin meaning “industrious”, from the Latin, Norse, Hebrew, and Anglo-Saxon root “amal” which means “work” according to What to Name the Baby by Evelyn Wells.
• Bees are in fact a symbol of industry and assiduity, which is why they are depicted facing the rose to collect their food. This also alludes to Archbishop Cinense as a builder and repairer of churches, and the bishop as the father and shepherd, his sweetest food is the Eucharist and sound doctrine, and as a protector and uniter of flock in charity.

The motto is a shortened verse from Ezekiel 36:26: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.”

The only point of concern for this coat of arms is that the rose violates the rules of tincture, as Archbishop Madriaga would do in several of his works. The rose cannot be tinctured as Proper since the field is already Vert, while changing its color will lose its intended canting. A fair solution might be placing the rose on a bezant (gold roundel) to complement the tincture of the bees.

Archbishop Cinense's coat of arms is one of the very representative examples of Madriaga's works which are simple, not overloaded with symbols, but rich in symbolism.

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References:

Madriaga, Mariano. “The Arms of Bishop Cinense,” Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas 31, no. 348 (1957): 484. https://ustdigitallibrary.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/boleccledef/id/52326

First of Many: The Coat of Arms of Archbishop Mariano Madriaga

 

The personal coat of arms of Archbishop Mariano Madriaga, unimpaled

from the corporate arms of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan after his

retirement in 1970. Engraved on his tombstone in the Minor Basilica of

Our Lady of Charity. Photo provided by Bro. Kendrick Panganiban.

Today marks the 122nd birthday of Archbishop Mariano Madriaga. The first coat of arms the late Filipino ecclesiastical heraldist has ever designed might have been his own when he was made bishop in 1938. We still cannot tell if he did assume his personal coat of arms when he was a priest, however, as a bishop, a coat of arms is always a must.

He was one of the few bishops with a heraldically proper coat of arms in 1938. Other bishops had borne a coat of arms that is full of realistic religious imagery and landscapes, examples are the coats of arms of the Servant of God Alfredo Verzosa and the Venerable Alfredo Obviar. However, what sets the coat of arms of Archbishop Madriaga apart from the others is that the symbols are not all borrowed from religious symbolism. In fact, it was one of the earliest Filipino ecclesiastical coats of arms in the a form of canting: a rebus or visual play depicting the bearer's name, as well as his hometown.

Coat of arms of Archbishop Madriaga impaled with the corporate arms of the

Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. Rendered by GiovanniYosh12 in Wikipedia.

Here is a blazon given by Msgr. John Brillantes of Escudos Eclesiasticos PH: Azure, issuant from a base Vert charged with a flaming heart transfixed with an arrow fesswise all Or, a whistling pine tree Proper between the monogram of the Blessed Virgin Mary Or in chief and two pears Or pendent, stalked and leaved in nombril; overall two arms and hands clasped in fesse Argent.

As of this time, we do not have a copy of the official description of the archbishop’s coat of arms, but based on research on similar themes of his coats of arms commissions, we may interpret the symbolism as such:

• His given name is the masculine form of the name Mariana, possibly evolved from the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, hence her monogram is in chief.
• His last name evolved from the Basque word "madari" which means "pear", hence this fruit is placed between the tree.
• The pine tree alludes to the etymology of Agoo, from aroo or agoho, referring to whistling pine trees abundant on the western coast before the Spanish colonization.
• The clasped hands represents union, the literal translation of La Union, where Agoo is located. 
• The heart pierced by an arrow is possibly in honor of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine and patroness of Agoo. Interestingly, the archbishop's birthday coincides with the feast of the Conversion of St. Augustine according to the Roman Martyrology.

His motto translates to “I will remember the mercies of the Most High.”

Coat of arms of Pope Leo XII, which the coat of arms of Archbishop Madriaga

closely resembles. From the "Heraldischer Atlas" by Hugo Gerhard Ströhl (1899).

His coat of arms bears a striking resemblance to that used by Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903, one year after the Madriaga's birth. The late pontiff’s coat of arms is blazoned: Azure, on a mount in base a pine tree proper; between in dexter chief a comet, or radiant star, argent, and in base two fleurs-de-lis or. Over all a fess of the third. 

Coat of arms of then-Bishop Madriaga impaled with the a version of the

corporate arms of the Diocese of Lingayen. Notice the realistic depiction of the

whistling pine tree. From the "Carlista Episcopology" by Fr. Ral Jaden C. Paguergan.

Rendered by Madriaga.

Coat of arms of then-Bishop Madriaga impaled with another version of

the corporate arms of the Diocese of Lingayen. From a letterhead dated 1947.

Rendered by Madriaga. Photo by Manolo Quezon on Facebook.

A depiction of the coat of arms of Archbishop Madriaga impaled with the former
corporate arms of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. Notice the clasped hands
have different skin color and sleeves. From a marble depiction located on the floors of the Dagupan Cathedral. Rendered by unknown artist. Photo by Vicky Salvador on Facebook.

Another thing I have observed is that he slightly modified his coat of arms either when the see of the Diocese of Lingayen was transferred to Dagupan in 1954, which prompted a new diocesan coat of arms, or on its elevation into an archdiocese in 1963. The pears were only added later during the aforementioned time, and the clasped hands with plain sleeves were changed to one with darker colored skin and the other with a black sleeve with white squares. The change on the clasped hands might be a misinterpretation by other artists, we can only verify this if we have an official copy of his coat of arms drawn by the archbishop himself.

Finally, there is the unknown cavity at the lower left side of the base, which Madriaga explicitly drew in two renditions of his coat of arms when he was Bishop of Lingayen. Does this allude to a lake? In any case, this cavity cannot be expressed in heraldic terms.

Overall, the coat of arms of the renowned Filipino ecclesiastical heraldist basically gives us the idea of the archbishop's process in the conceptualization of coats of arms of his fellow bishops during his prime years in ecclesiastical heraldry, which will be featured in future articles.

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References:

Photo of personal coat of arms of Archbishop Madriaga from Bro. Kendrick Panganiban.

Photo of coat of arms of Pope Leo XIII from the "Heraldischer Atlas" by Hugo Gerhard Ströhl (1899): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ströhl_Heraldischer_Atlas_t49_3_d01.jpg

Paguergan, Fr. Ral Jaden, compiler, “His Excellency Most Rev. Mariano A. Madriaga” in Carlista Episcopology (unpublished manuscript, 2013).

Photo of coat of arms of then-bishop Madriaga from Manolo Quezon on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=2740710835956995&set=gm.2482692611750476

Photo of coat of arms of Archbishop Madriaga from Vicky Salvador on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10154964087255200&set=a.10154963902310200

Archbishop Mariano Madriaga: Ecclesiastical Heraldist of the Philippines

Most Rev. Mariano Aspiras Madriaga, J.C.D., D.D.

1902-1981; late Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan

Photo: Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas

If we are going to think about ecclesiastical heraldry in the Philippines, one famous example that comes to mind is the coat of arms (or simply “arms”) of the Archdiocese of Manila: the red and blue tinctures, charged with the castle, the crescent moon, and the half-lion, half-dolphin creature which we colloquially call a “merlion”. The “corporate arms”, as it is called in heraldic terms since it is used by an institution, is always impaled with the personal coat of arms of the incumbent Archbishop of Manila, starting from the Most. Rev. Gabriel Martelino Reyes in 1949, indicating the archbishop’s “marriage” to his Archdiocese. This is just one of the many corporate arms proudly borne by several dioceses here in the Philippines, a testament to how heraldry reflects the visual identity of the bearer. 

Now imagine this: what if we did not have corporate arms for dioceses? They would not have a stable visual identity and might resort to either using the arms of the incumbent bishop which changes over time, or by creating a logo instead. It is laudable that these heraldic traditions have continued in our country despite the many heraldic blunders several graphic artists have made. 

One begs the question: how did the heraldry of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, unique as it is, evolve into what it is right now? The answer lies in a person unknown, yet his legacy has shaped the visual identity of the church in the country. Let me introduce the man who has undoubtedly made a great contribution to and started a “renaissance” of ecclesiastical heraldry in our country. He is the late archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, the Most Rev. Mariano Aspiras Madriaga.

Archbishop Madriaga was born on May 5, 1902, in Agoo, La Union, and was baptized five days later in his town parish. He entered public schools in 1911 and graduated in 1918 with the highest general average in the whole province of La Union. In addition, he received the Lucero Prize for having the highest written exam average among graduating 7th graders across La Union. In his first year at UP High in 1918, he received the Dean Benitez Prize for winning the Spelling Contest and the Menias Prize in “Current Events” for his speech on “The League of Nations.” He later taught at Luna Academy in Agoo from 1921 to 1922 and graduated from UP High in 1923

In 1925, he entered the Conciliar Seminary of Vigan (now the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary) after discerning his vocation through the influence of Bishop Peter Joseph Hurth, who tutored him in Latin and made him his traveling companion cruising the China Sea to Hong Kong for health reasons. He attended first-year Philosophy at the Seminary-Collge of Vigan, Ilocos Sur, from 1924 to 1925 under the Jesuits. At the end of the school year, he received a Gold Medal from the renowned Jesuit Provincial, Fr. Joaquin Villalonga, SJ, for his highest ratings. He then attended San Carlos Seminary in Mandaluyong as a second-year Philosophy student from 1925 to 1926 under the Spanish Vincentians. He returned to Vigan, completing his Theology studies under the SVD Fathers from 1926 to 1929.

Due to a severe typhoid fever that afflicted him in March 1929, his chances for ordination were slim. However, because of the “mercies of the Most High,” he recovered and received priestly ordination on March 15, 1930, from then-bishop Santiago Sancho. He then served as parish priest in several parishes in the Diocese of Nueva Segovia and worked in the diocesan Curia. Less than a year after his pastoral assignments, he left for Rome on August 3, 1932, to study Canon Law at the Pontifical Institute of St. Apollinare (now replaced by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross) and graduated on January 8, 1937. He was also known to be a good organizer, in which he was assigned as secretary of the Curia in his diocese.

Madriaga was initially appointed by Pope Pius XI as auxiliary to Bishop Francisco Reyes of Nueva Caceres through a secret consistory held on December 16, 1937, but was voided due to the bishop’s death a day before the appointment. Another consistory held on March 17, 1938, appointed him as the successor to Bishop Cesar Guerrero of the Diocese of Lingayen, who was transferred to Manila as auxiliary to Archbishop Michael O’Doherty. He took possession of the diocese on May 23 of that year, and was consecrated the following day by Archbishop Gabriel Reyes of Cebu, together with several other bishops of the Philippine hierarchy. He was only 36 years old when he was made bishop.

The Diocese of Lingayen was one of the worst-hit places during the Second World War, leaving the cathedral in ruins. This prompted Bishop Madriaga to transfer the see of the diocese to Dagupan, officially renamed the Diocese of Lingayen-Dagupan on February 11, 1954. The see was later elevated into an archdiocese on February 16, 1963, with Madriaga as its first archbishop.

Aside from being regarded as a “scholarly bishop”, he was also proficient in sculpting and the arts, which contributed to his expertise in heraldry. The first possible coat of arms he was commissioned to design for a bishop other than his own was that of his colleague, the Auxiliary Bishop Juan Sison of Nueva Segovia, which was published in the local Catholic newspaper The Cathedral Chimes on May 19, 1947, and in the Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas in September of the same year. In that article, he was introduced as “perito en heráldica como es” (an expert in heraldry as he is), which might infer that he was already an established heraldic expert even before the gradual publication of his works in the Boletin. After his successful commissions for the coats of arms of Archbishops Gabriel Reyes of Manila and Julio Rosales of Cebu, Madriaga became the go-to bishop for ecclesiastical heraldry in the Philippines.

Archbishop Madriaga retired on February 7, 1973, at the age of 70, although he continued to be active in designing heraldic works. He died on November 1, 1981, and is buried in his hometown in the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Charity.

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References:

Paguergan, Fr. Ral Jaden, compiler, “His Excellency Most Rev. Mariano A. Madriaga” in Carlista Episcopology (unpublished manuscript, 2013).

Peraud, Fr. Pierre, compiler, The Episcopate of the Philippines (1987).

“Excmo. y Revmo. Sr. Dr. D. Mariano Madriaga: Obispo de Lingayen, I. F.,” Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas 16, no. 180 (July 1938): 433-435. https://ustdigitallibrary.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/boleccledef/id/57850.

Abella, Domingo. “More on Episcopal Succession,” Philippine Studies 8, no. 1 (January 1960): 180. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42720436.

Introductions

Welcome to my first blogpost! I am Johnel Dimco, also known as GiovanniYosh12 in Wikipedia, head artist of Auxilium Christianorum Ecclesiastical Heraldic Arts and member of Escudos Eclesiasticos PH.

As I started the vectorization project of all the coats of arms of Filipino bishops and archbishops uploaded to Wikipedia in 2021, I have made many discoveries regarding the history of ecclesiastical heraldry in the Philippines. It’s very disheartening to witness that, in several heraldic circles, Filipino heraldry is being maligned due to the many bad coats of arms our bishops adopt. This usually stems from the lack of knowledge on the heraldry rules, thinking that a coat of arms is just a mere logo.

Inspired by other blogsites of heraldic researchers and artists such as Fr. Guy Selvester of EXARANDORUM and Dr. Chad Krouse of Walsingham Wanderings, I started this blog to share my research on how ecclesiastical heraldry in our country came to be, and its impact to our visual identity as the Catholic Church of the Philippines. Although I have already shared about past coats of arms in our Facebook page, I feel it can be limiting since most of the work done is in the pictures and not on the caption.

I am excited to share in the following days articles on my insights on select themes of Philippine ecclesiastical heraldry, dissecting select coats of arms of Filipino bishops and corporate arms, and introducing the people behind its design. I will be also sharing some of my commissioned work and delving deeper into the design choices we made. Take note that articles will be solely the opinion of the author, so I am not representing the opinions of all the members of the Escudos Eclesiasticos in my articles.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Help of Christians, and her blessed Spouse, Saint Joseph, intercede for us and our work!