Joseph Patrick McFadden

JOSEPH PATRICK MCFADDEN

Born : May 22, 1947
Deceased : May 2, 2013

Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, 2004-2010; Titular Bishop of Horreomargum
Bishop of Harrisburg, 2010-2013

Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia

Bishop of Harrisburg

Official blazon

Argent, on a cross gules a shamrock of the field, on a chief sable a crescent between two roundels argent, impaling Azure, a cross gyronny Or and argent between in dexter chief a rose Or and in sinister base a fleur-de-lis argent.

Origin/meaning

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

Like the arms of the Diocese, the Bishop's coat of arms is also centered on the Cross of Christ. Here the cross is painted in an alternating pattern of gold and silver. These tinctures, used in the depiction of the crossed keys of Saint Peter, and in the flag of the Holy See, express the Bishop's commitment always to be faithful to the Holy Father.

In the spaces created by the arms of the cross are symbols representing the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The golden rose in the dexter chief alludes to the apparitions of the Blessed Mother as Our Lady of Knock in 1879. The fleur-de-lis in the sinister base is a stylized lily, a traditional attribute recognizing the purity of Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary, the Bishop's baptismal patron.