Michael Joseph Hoeppner
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MICHAEL JOSEPH HOEPPNER
Born : June 1, 1949
Deceased :
Bishop of Crookston, 2007–present
Official blazon
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 chief shows the Saint Andrew Cross and honors the feast of the Apostle Saint Andrew, the day on which Bishop Hoeppner is ordained to the episcopacy. At the center of the cross appears a silver crescent, the open bowl space pointing upward. This is the universal symbol of the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of Crookston and the titular of the cathedral there in which the bishop is consecrated.
The blue in the main shield also represents the Blessed Virgin Mary but as a personal homage to her by the Bishop.
The portcullis is also normally symbolic of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but here it represents Saint Anne, the mother of Mary. Saint Anne was known to have died (near to age 72 as legend has it) in a dwelling beside the Gate of the Sheep in Jerusalem and next to this gate she is believed to have been buried. In addition, when she and Saint Joachim could not successfully bear children, Joachim left Anne for 40 days in the desert to pray for an heir. After 40 days, an angel appeared to them both to inform them that a child would be conceived. Anne was told to go out to the Golden Gate of Jerusalem to await Joachim and it was there, when he arrived, and as they embraced, that the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary took place. For these two reasons, the Golden Gate has been selected for Bishop Hoeppner's arms but upon it is worked a sheep's head in gold to represent both the Golden Gate of the city and the Sheep's Gate. Gold was selected for the sheep's head as silver and gold represent loyalty to the Holy See, as these metals are the colors of the Vatican State and the Holy See. Likewise, gold and silver are the only two heavenly attributes.
The gate represents not only Saint Anne, but the bishop's own mother, who was named for the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary . Bishop Hoeppner wished most of all to represent his late mother and father in his heraldic design. As such, a special homage needed to be made to Saint Joseph of Nazareth, as the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary was also the patron of the bishop's late father. And so, in this design, the stem or rod of Saint Joseph, common in devotional art, appears to honor both the foster father of the Lord but also the bishop's own late father. To clearly represent that these two images have become one, by virtue of impalement, the stem passes behind the gate, the rod appears below the gate and the stem and flowers above it. The stem shall be silver. The lily atop the staff, as is proper, is to honor the bishop's paternal heritage.
The cross behind the shield shows etched into the cross/transverse arm the slight suggestion of angel's wings in the same way that subtle designs are etched into real gold sacred vessels in the church. In other words, a suggestion of angel's wings appears on the processional cross above the shield. This represents the Archangel Michael, the patron of the bishop. At the center of this cross, where the upright and the transverse arms join, is displayed a rough cut emerald representing the "Emerald Isle" and the bishop's maternal heritage - Ireland. The staff of this cross is gold as well and falls behind the shield, re-emerging below the shield's base.
The motto is Omnia in Nomine Domini Jesu (Everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus).
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