Donald Edward DeGrood

DONALD EDWARD DEGROOD

Born: february 14, 1965
Deceased:

Bishop of Sioux Falls, 2006-2019

Official blazon
English	blazon wanted

Origin/meaning

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

The bue chief of the personal arms symbolizes Mary. It also points to the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” in Minnesota where Bishop DeGrood was born and was ordained a priest. It is also a reminder of the blue color that is used on the arms of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The green field symbolizes the Earth, where Christ came down from heaven to save us.

The black cross reflects the central theme of the sacrificial love of God. This was chosen because of the motto, “God is Love,” expressed in 1 John 4:8 and further explained in 1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.”

The sheaf of wheat is composed of five stalks of wheat. The five heads of wheat are the fruit of the sacrificial marital love (5 sons) that came forth from God and Bishop DeGrood’s parents. Having grown up on a farm near Faribault, Minnesota, and appointed to be the bishop of the largely rural Diocese of Sioux Falls, agricultural imagery is a reflection of his agricultural roots and future ministry. The wheat stem symbolizes St. Thomas Aquinas who, at the end of his life, after having received a vision of Christ on the cross, turned to his Summa Theologica and said, “It is but straw.” This is to be a reminder that all we do in this world is simply straw compared with the amazing love God has for us.

The chalice and confessional stole represent the ministry of St. John Vianney, a farm boy who became the patron saint of parish priests, co-patron of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, St. John Vianney College Seminary and personal patron of Bishop DeGrood. The Chalice is to show the centrality of the Eucharist (sacrifice of the Mass) as the source and summit of the Christian life (CCC 1324). The stole is to display the importance of God’s mercy extended to those in need of healing.

The carpenter’s square symbolizes St. Joseph as the foster father of Jesus, patron of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, and Bishop DeGrood’s deceased father. It is also a reminder of the importance and dignity of human labor reflected in the many generations of immigrant laborers in the United States. It is a remembrance that Jesus was born into a human family, and that we too are invited into the life of the Holy Family in Nazareth. The carpenter’s square also is a reminder to Bishop DeGrood of his father’s labor of love through prayer, family life, manual labor on the farm, and promoting Christian values. The angle of the carpenter’s square has the meaning of a rafter which holds the roof of the church, having then a meaning of protection. This, coupled with the letter M and the cross is to be a full representation of the Holy Family in Bishop DeGrood’s coat of arms.

The Letter M is a direct tie to the papal coat of arms of Pope St. John Paul II. He was the pope who most influenced the vocation and priestly service of Bishop DeGrood. It is also a reminder of the importance of the motto of Pope St. John Paul II, “Totus Tuus,” (all yours) which reflects the central role Mary had in the life of Pope St. John Paul II, as well as Bishop DeGrood’s severely-disabled uncle Donnie Noy, who inspired Bishop DeGrood to rely upon Mary’s spiritual motherhood. The letter M, along with the carpenter’s square, are simple symbols to display that the life of Nazareth, the life of every Christian, is to be one of great humility, simplicity and love with absolute reliance on God, so we can be like Mary who allowed the ordinary things of life to become extraordinary through God’s grace.

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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