John Joseph Fitzpatrick

JOHN JOSEPH FITZPATRICK

Born : October 12, 1918
Deceased : July 15, 2006

Auxiliary Bishop of Miami, 1968-1971
Bishop of Brownsville, 1971-1991

Auxiliary Bishop of Miami

Bishop of Brownsville

Official blazon

Origin/meaning

The arms are based on the arms of some unrelated Fitzpatrick family, which consists of a black field with a silver saltire with a chief of blue bearing three gold fleurs de-lis. The basic design has been retained, but the colors have been changed and two additions have been made to make this interpretation of these Fitzpatrick arms personal to the Bishop. Four ermine tails honor the Pelletier family of the Bishop's mother. In French "pelletier" means "furrier".

The eagle is the symbol of St. John the Evangelist, the baptismal patron of Bishop Fitzpatrick. The writer of the Fourth Gospel has been known by this symbol for centuries, because his Gospel rises to the very throne of heaven in proclaiming the Divinity of Christ. For simplicity the head, rather than the full eagle, is shown on the shield.

The motto of the new Bishop, which expresses briefly an ideal, a program of life, the spirit of the one who selects it is " Mihi Vivere Christus," which translated means "For to me to live is Christ" and is a phrase taken from the Epistle of St Paul to the Philippians (1:21).

The achievement is completed with the heraldic insignia of a prelate of the rank of bishop.