Edgar Moreira da Cunha

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EDGAR MOREIRA DA CUNHA

Born : August 21, 1953
Deceased :

Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, 2003-2014
Bishop of Fall River, 2014-present

Official blazon

Impaled Arms: Dexter : the Sea of Fall River: Argent; a bend wavy azure behind a cross gules; at fess on a roundel of the third a star of six points of the first. Sinister: personal arms: party per fess azure and or; in chief, a circle argent within a triangle of the second; in base, a bend indented vert behind a roundel of the first bearing a bend let of the third.

Origin/meaning

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

Bishop da Cunha has adapted his original coat of arms to simplify its presentation and to indicate that he now begins a new chapter in his life. The arms represents where he comes from and the influences which have shaped his life and ministry.

The bottom part of the shield represents the bishop's life in Brazil where he was born and where he received first formation in the faith from his family and through the sacraments of the Church. The symbols recall the flag of Brazil. The colors of the flag are green and yellow and in the center there is a globe with a banner bearing the words "Ordem e Progresso" (Order and Progress). The words are not repeated in the arms but the representation alludes to them. The green of the flag is referenced by the indented green line which also refers to the motto of the Bishop's home state of us that growth in the Christian life is sometimes accomplished through enduring difficulties.

The top part of the shield represents the Society of Divine Vocations, the religious order to which Bishop da Cunha belongs, which was founded in Italy in 1920 by Blessed Justin Russolilio and began working in Bahia in 1950. The circle represents the world and the triangle represents the trinity; they are interlaced which indicates the Vocationist mission to bring the world to God and God to the world. The colors chosen are silver and gold which were chosen to represent the precious nature of the Christian vocation.

The symbol is placed on a blue field which is the color of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a reminder that Bishop da Cunha's vocation began with his baptism in Immaculate Conception Church in Gaviao, Bahia, that he studied for the priesthood in Immaculate Conception Seminary, and that he spent his years of ministry as priest and bishop in the Archdiocese of Newark which is under the patronage of Immaculate Conception before being named to Fall River.

The motto "Suffict tibi gratia mea" (My grace is enough for you) is taken from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians (12:9), where Paul tells his readers that the Lord told him this when he was encountering difficulties. These words remind Bishop da Cunha that God's grace will see him through the challenges that all Christians face in the modern world, especially as he begins his ministry as the chief shepherd of the Church of Fall River.

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.