Peter Forsyth Christensen

PETER FORSYTH CHRISTENSEN

Born : December 24, 1952
Deceased :

Bishop of Superior, 2007-2014
Bishop of Boise, 2014-present

Bishop of Superior

Bishop of Boise

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.

Bishop Christensen's coat of arms pays homage to St. Peter, the first bishop of Rome, and to a lesser degree, to St. Francis de Sales. There is also tribute to the Blessed Virgin Mary evidenced in the blue, on the base of the shield. Besides Mary, blue also represents philosophy, symbolic of a bishop's teaching role.

The boat is the symbol of St. Peter. Gold represents the first of the heavenly attributes, as well as divine wisdom and the Petrine office. The mast of the boat is in the form of a cross in gold, representing the heroic sacrifice of Christ. This image is particularly significant, since Bishop Christensen was ordained to the episcopacy on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The sail of the boat is silver, its fullness representing the fullness of truth that the apostle Peter carried to Rome. The star on the sail is the Star of Mary , with red rays representing the graces that flow from her. Its position near the base of the mast recalls Mary's steadfast presence at the foot of the cross.

On the top, in gold rectangle, is a circlet representing a halo of holiness to which all in the church are called. It consists of eight thorns (black for human sinfulness) tipped in red, the color of Christ's redeeming blood. Here is a reference to the sorrows that pierced the heart of St. Francis de Sales, a saint with whom Bishop Christensen shares a deep spiritual kinship.

The motto Tu es Christus Filius Dei Vivi (You are the Christ, Son of the Living God) is taken from Gospel of Matthew 16:16.

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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