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 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
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