Philip Anthony Egan

PHILIP ANTHONY EGAN

Born : November 14, 1955
Deceased :

Bishop of Portsmouth, 2012-present

Official blazon

Origin/meaning

The arms refer to the motto, In Corde Iesu ("In the Heart of Iesus"), as a hart is the heraldic term for a deer. The shield shows a hart drinking from the Waters of Life, the Holy Spirit flowing from the Sacred Heart (John 7:38). The white hart is an ancient symbol of Christ, the New Adam, whose mouth, yearning for the Water of Life, drinks from the edge of the stream, recalling Psalm 41: "Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you my God." The pose of the hart also alludes to the naval and seafaring character of the Diocese of Portsmouth.

In a playful reversal of heraldic convention, the open mouth of the hart points to the left, in nautical terms the port side, thus creating Portsmouth.

In the sky is a star, like that followed by the Magi who, led by the light of faith, travelled far to find the infant Jesus. However, the star primarily represents Mary, conceived without original sin, the principle Patron of the Diocese of Portsmouth. This Star of the Sea and Star of the New Evangelisation has seven points representing Mary's seven sorrows and seven joys.