Steven John Raica

STEVEN JOHN RAICA

Born : November 8, 1952
Deceased :

Bishop of Gaylord, 2014-2020
Bishop of Birmingham in Alabama, 2020-present

Bishop of Gaylord

Bishop of Birmingham in Alabama

Official blazon

Origin/meaning

The arms combine the arms of the diocese with the personal arms of the bishop.

The gold of the field is for the ´most noble metal´, symbol of the first virtue: Faith. The evergreen tree comes from the arms of Locana (Italy), the sun from the arms of Busko-Zdrój (Poland), where the families of the bishop's mother and father originate respectively.

The crown is here a symbol of the Martyrdom of Saint-Stephen, the first name of bishop Raica. It is red, the color of love an blood shed by the martyrs for love of God.

The motto SURSUM CORDA (Lam.3:41), is also used in the Eucharisty at the beginning of the Preface before the Canon since at least the year 215.A.D. according to the Hippolytus ¨Apostolic Traditions¨.

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.