Peter Baldacchino

PETER BALDACCHINO

Born: May 5, 1960
Deceased:

Auxiliary bishop of Miami, 2014-2019; Titular Bishop of Vatarba
Bishop of Las Cruces, 2019-present

Auxiliary Bishop of Miami

Bishop of Las Cruces

Official blazon
English	blazon wanted

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 arms show Christ crucified. The Cross emerges as a sign of victory over death, represented by the waters of the baptismal font, the source of Christian life which communicates to every Christian the victory of Christ.

The baptismal font is a reference also to the Bishop's own rediscovery of baptism through the Neocatechumenal Way and to the work of evangelisation: bringing people to live their baptism so that they may receive divine life.

Beneath the Cross and baptismal font is found an image of a palm tree upon which a lobster rests, a well-known symbol of the early Church, representing the mystery of salvation through baptism : a sea creature, accustomed to live in the waters of sin, through the work of the Holy Spirit, can leave behind its natural environment and live upon a palm tree, symbol of eternity and paradise. The palm tree is also a reference to the Archdiocese of Miami, and the lobster to the Turks and Caicos Islands, where Bishop Baldacchino ministered for 15 years.

Above the Cross hovers a dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit, who is the life of the Church, and without whom nothing can be done.

In the upper part are found the moon, representing the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Cross of Malta , but also the star which leads the way to Christ.

The achievement is completed with the heraldic insignia of a prelate of the rank of bishop by instruction of the Holy See, of March 1969, confirmed in March 2001.

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