Thomas Ambrose Tschoepe

THOMAS AMBROSE TSCHOEPE

Born : December 17, 1915
Deceased : January 24, 2009

Bishop of San Angelo, 1966-1969
Bishop of Dallas, 1969-1990

Bishop of San Angelo

Bishop of Dallas

Official blazon

(personal arms) Azure, a pecan tree issuing from a demi-sin rayonnat or, a horseshoe surmounting the trunk argent, accosted by two mullets of the same, the foliage charged with an antique crown gules.

Origin/meaning

As common in US episcopal heraldry, the arms show the arms of the diocese impaled with the personal arms of the bishop.

The coat of arms of the Tschoepe family, also known as Szczepanski in eastern Prussia, is composed of a blue field bearing a gold palm tree with a silver horseshoe covering the trunk of the tree, which bears on either side a silver star of six points. This basic coat of arms has been retained but somewhat differenced to make it peculiar to the Bishop, by custom in ecclesiastical or prelatical heraldry.

For instance, the stars at either side of the tree trunk have been changed from six points to five points that the star of Texas on the state seal might be displayed to commemorate the birth of the Bishop in Pilot Point, Texas. The tree, too, has been altered to a pecan tree because this is that state tree of Texas.

The antique crown charged on the tree is at once the symbol of the meaning of the name of the Bishop in the Greek language (Stephanos-crown), and a mark of honor to the family of the Bishop's mother. There is a Sloan family that bears a lion rampant crowned with an antique crown on its shield.

The gold sun in the base is the revered symbol of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the angelic Doctor of the Church, the baptismal patron of Bishop Tschoepe.

The motto, "Paratum Cor Meum," (Psalm 107:2) is translated "My heart is ready." A motto briefly expresses an ideal, a program of life, and the spirit of the one who selects it.

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