The Gate Of Heaven Shields

About St. Ambrose and His Shield

St. Ambrose, famous bishop of Milan was known as the Father of Church Music because of his reforms in sacred song, his encouragement of congregational singing, his introduction of antiphonal singing in the Church, and his ability as a hymn writer.

He and St. Isidore are both represented by a beehive.

About St. Bartholomew and His Shield

Bartholomew is, according to common opinion, the disciple whom St. Philip brought to our Lord under the name of Nathaniel and whom the Master praised because of his innocence and simplicity of heart. In our supplications to St. Bartholomew we may well ask him to help us love God and our neighbor in this guileless manner.

The shield of St. Bartholomew shows an open Bible and a flaying knife. The open Bible recalls his faith in God's Word.

About St. Benedict of Nursia and His Shield

He lived the life of a hermit and settled at the mountainous Subiaco, where he lived in a cave for three years, fed by a monk named Romanus. Despite Benedict's desire for solitude, he holiness and austerities became known and he was asked to be their abbot by a community of monks at Vicovaro.

He destroyed a pagan temple to Apollo on its crest, brought the people of the neighboring area back to Christianity, and in about 530 began to build the monastery that was to be the birthplace of Western monasticism.

He organized the monks into a single monastic community and wrote his famous rule prescribing common sense, a life of moderate asceticism, prayer, study, work, and community life under one superior. It stressed obedience, stability, zeal, and had the Divine Office as the center of monastic life; it was to affect spiritual and monastic life in the West for centuries to come.

He is represented by a cracked bell.

About St. Bernard of Montjoux and His Shield

St. Bernard of Montjoux was probably born in Italy. He became a priest, was made Vicar General of Aosta, and spent more than four decades doing missionary work in the Alps.
He built schools and churches in the diocese but is especially remembered for two Alpine hospices he built to aid lost travelers in the mountain passes named Great and Little Bernard, after him. The men who ran them in time became Augustinian canons regular and built a monastery. The Order continued into the twentieth century.

He was proclaimed the patron saint of Alpinists and mountain climbers by Pope Pius XI in 1923.
He is often represented by a large white dog.

About St. Blaise and His Shield

Upon the order of Emperor Licinius, he was tortured by having his flesh torn with iron comb-like rakes.

About St. Christopher and His Shield

Before the 1969 reform of the Roman calendar, Christopher was listed as a martyr who died under Decius. Nothing else is known about him.

There are several legends about him including the one in which he was crossing a river when a child asked to be carried across. When Christopher put the child on his shoulders he found the child was unbelievably heavy. The child, according to the legend, was Christ carrying the weight of the whole world. This was what made Christopher patron saint of travelers and is invoked against storms, plagues, etc.

He is represented by a lantern.

About St. Cyprian Bishop of Toulon and His Shield

St. Cyprian Bishop of Toulon, France, about 516. He began his career as a monk at St. Victor's in Marseilles and was well known as an opponent of Semi-Pelagianism, a heresy of the time. Cyprian wrote a life of St. Caesarius of Arles. Represented by a gridiron.

About John Cardinal Farley and His Shield

John Murphy Farley, later John Cardinal Farley, (April 20, 1842 - September 17, 1918) was the seventh bishop (fourth archbishop) of the Roman Catholic diocese of New York. He was born in Newtown Hamilton, Ireland, and was ordained priest on June 11, 1870. He was appointed an Auxiliary Bishop of New York in November, 1895 and ordained December 21, 1895 with the titular see of Zeugma. He was appointed Archbishop of New York on September 15, 1902 and elevated to Cardinal on November 27, 1911, serving as archbishop until his death. He is interred in the crypt under the altar of St. Patrick's Cathedral.

About the Fig Tree Shield

Sometimes replacing the apple tree, the fig tree represents the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together to hide their nudity.

About St. Gabriel and His Shield

The name Gabriel means "man of God", or "God has shown Himself mighty."
It appears first in the prophecies of Daniel in the Old Testament. The angel announced to Daniel the prophecy of the seventy weeks.

His name also occurs in the apocryphal book of Henoch. He was the angel who appeared to Zachariah to announce the birth of St. John the Baptizer.

Finally, he announced to Mary that she would bear a Son Who would be conceived of the Holy Spirit, Son of the Most High, and Savior of the world.

The feast day is September 29^th.

St. Gabriel is the patron saint of communications workers.

He is represented with a horn or trumpet.

About St. George and His Shield

St. George was a soldier in the army of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and he was one of the Emperor's favorite soldiers.

Diocletian was a pagan and a bitter enemy to the Christians. He put to death every Christian he could find.

George was a brave Christian, a real soldier of Christ. Without fear, he went to the Emperor and sternly scolded him for being so cruel. Then he gave up his position in the Roman army.

For this he was tortured in many terrible ways and finally beheaded.

He is represented by a Latin cross.

About St. Gregory the Great and His Shield

Under Sergius I, Gregory was the librarian and the keeper of the purse; he accompanied Pope Constantine when the pope traveled to Constantinople to protest the anti-western canons of the Second Trullan (or Quintisext) Council (692).

Successful, the two returned to Rome in 711. Gregory was elected to the papacy in 715 and resisted the iconoclasm of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian. He also resisted taxes the Emperor imposed, and the emperor plotted to kill the pope.

In 716, Gregory peacefully regained papal territory from the Lombards, and when King Liutprand of the Lombards threatened to invade Rome in 729, Gregory dissuaded him.

Gregory sponsored the missionary activities of St. Boniface in Germany, and, like Gregory I, Gregory II converted his family mansion into a monastery.

He is represented by the patriarchal cross and pen.

About St. James the Less and His Shield

St. James the Less Apostle, called "the Younger" or "the Just", named in the lists of the disciples given by Matthew, Mark, and Luke and mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles.

He was the son of Alpheus and was known as "the Less" merely as a means of distinguishing him from James the Greater who was older or taller.

Little else is known with certainty about him, unless one accepts the view that he is to be identified with St. James, the Brother of the Lord, with whom he is often confused.

He is represented by a fullers bat of a vertical saw.

About St. John and His Shield

St. John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved" was the youngest Apostle of our Lord and a brother of St. James the Greater. He was present at the Transfiguration and at the Agony in the Garden. It was to John that our dying Savior from the Cross entrusted the care of His Blessed Mother.

St. John's shield has upon it a chalice out of which a serpent is emerging. This symbol represents an attempt to martyr St. John by giving him a cup of poison.

Though he died a natural death, St. John is honored as a martyr (May 6) because he escaped a violent death only through divine protection.

About St. John the Baptist and His Shield

John the Baptist was the son of Zachary, a priest of the Temple of Jerusalem, and Elizabeth, a kinswoman of Mary who visited her. He was probably born at Ain-Karim southwest of Jerusalem after the Angel Gabriel had told Zachary that his wife would bear a child even though she was an old woman.

He lived as a hermit in the desert of Judea until about A.D. 27. When he was thirty, he began to preach on the banks of the Jordan against the evils of the times and called men to penance and baptism "for the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand". He attracted large crowds, and when Christ came to him, John recognized Him as the Messiah and baptized Him, saying, "It is I who need baptism from You". When Christ left to preach in Galilee, John continued preaching in the Jordan valley.

Fearful of his great power with the people, Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Perea and Galilee, had him arrested and imprisoned at Machaerus Fortress on the Dead Sea when John denounced his adulterous and incestuous marriage with Herodias, wife of his half brother Philip. John was beheaded at the request of Salome, daughter of Herodias, who asked for his head at the instigation of her mother.

John inspired many of his followers to follow Christ when he designated Him "the Lamb of God," among them Andrew and John, who came to know Christ through John's preaching. John is presented in the New Testament as the last of the Old Testament prophets and the precursor of the Messiah.

He is represented as a camel hide coat.

About St. Jude and His Shield

St. Jude was the brother of St. James the Less (or Minor) and a relative of Jesus. He traveled through Mesopotamia, Libya and Persia, preaching and converting many to Christianity.

In memory of his journeys he is represented by a sailboat with a cross-shaped mast.

About St. Matthew and His Shield

"And when Jesus passed on from thence, he saw a man sitting in the custom house, named Matthew and he saith to him: Follow me. And he arose up and followed him." Matt. 9:9.

From Matthew we may well learn prompt obedience to God's commands. Claimed as the Apostle of Ethiopia, it is believed that he was martyred in that country.

St. Matthew's shield shows a battle-axe. This symbol reminds us that such an axe was used to sever his head from his body after he had been crucified on a T-shaped cross.

St. Matthew's love for his Master inspired us to know Christ more intimately, love Him more ardently, and follow him more closely.

About St. Maurice and His Shield

St. Maurice was an officer of the Theban Legion of Emperor Maximian Herculius' army, which was composed of Christians from Upper Egypt. He and his fellow legionnaires refused to sacrifice to the gods as ordered by the Emperor to insure victory over rebelling Bagaudae. When they refused to obey repeated orders to do so and withdrew from the army encamped at Octodurum (Martigny) near Lake Geneva to Agaunum (St. Maruice-en-Valais), Maximian had the entire Legion of over six thousand men put to death.

To the end they were encouraged in their constancy by Maurice and two fellow officers, Exuperius and Candidus.

Also executed was Victor (October 10^th), who refused to accept any of the belongings of the dead soldiers. In a follow-up action, other Christians put to death were Ursus and another Victor at Solothurin (September 30^th); Alexander at Bergamo; Octavius, Innocent, Adventor, and Solutar at Turin; and Gereon (October 10^th) at Cologne.

Their story was told by St. Eucherius, who became Bishop of Lyons about 434, but scholars doubt that an entire Legion was massacred. However, there is no doubt that Maurice and some of his comrades did suffer martyrdom at Agaunum.

He is represented by armour.

About the Open Purse Shield

Represents charity to the poor and Christian beneficence. Also the symbol of St. Pudentiana also known as Potentiana, a Roman virgin and daughter of St. Pudens. According to legend, she was the daughter of the Roman senator named in St. Paul's Second Letter to Timothy who gave away her wealth to the poor, aided the burials of Christians, and died at the age of sixteen.

As her name is not found in any of the ancient martyrologies and owing to the unreliability of her origins, the cult of Pudentiana was suppressed in 1969 and her veneration is confined to her basilica in Rome.

The open purse also represents St. Cyril. When a famine hit Jerusalem, the poor turned to Cyril for help. Cyril, seeing the poor starving to death and having no money, sold some of the goods of the churches. This was something that other saints including Ambrose and Augustine had done and it probably saved many lives. There were rumors, however, that some of the vestments wound up as clothing for actors.

About St. Paul and His Shield

The great Apostle's shield is often shown along with the other Apostles. The most common form by far is an open Bible bearing the words Spiritus Gladius, and behind the Bible a Sword of the Spirit, cross-hilted. This is a familiar device often carved in stone over the doorways of churches bearings his name.

A second form of his shield shows three fountains of water, treated heraldically.

A third form shows two swords saltire.

A fourth form shows the serpent of Melita cast into the fire.

A fifth form shows the Phoenix, because of this Apostle's stress upon the doctrine of the Resurrection.

A sixth form shows a palm tree, likewise a Resurrection symbol.

A seventh form shows the Shield of Faith, namely a rayed Latin cross upon a shield.

An eighth shows the armour of God.

A ninth form shows a scourge.

About St. Peter and His Shield

"Thou are Peter: and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the Keys of the Kingdom of heaven." Matt. 15: 18, 19.

The crossed keys remind us of this authority vested in St. Peter and all his successors down to our beloved Pope John XXIII.

The cross reminds us that Peter was crucified head downward. It is said that he did not consider himself worthy enough to die as Christ had died.

A key may open or lock. May the crossed Keys of St. Peter remind us to open our hearts and lips in prayer for an increase in love of our faith.

About St. Simon Zelotes and His Shield

Simon was surnamed Zealot for his rigid adherence to the Jewish law and to the Canaanite law. He was one of the original followers of Christ.

Western tradition holds that he preached in Egypt and then went to Persia with St. Jude, where both suffered martyrdom.

Easter tradition says Simon died peacefully at Edessa.

St. Simon is represented by two swimming fish.

About St. Samson and His Shield

St. Samson also called Samson Xenodochius "the Hospitable", a doctor and renowned figure of charity. A physician in Constantinople (modern Istanbul), he also became a priest in order to tend to both the physical and spiritual welfare of his patients.

Samson also founded a well-known hospital near the Hagia Sophia, in Constantinople.

He was revered as "the Father of the Poor."

He and St. Ceadda are both represented by a closed book and staff.

About St. Sylvester and His Shield

St. Sylvester converted Constantine to Christianity and was Bishop of Rome. Legend has Sylvester curing Constantine's leprosy through baptism.

Sylvester was said to have brought a dead bull back to life as proof that Christ was the God of life, and he is often represented as a bull.

About St. Thomas and His Shield

Thought of as gloomy and once doubtful, St. Thomas is believed to have taught the Gospel in India, and it is said that he built a church with his own hands in East India.
He is the patron saint of all builders.

He is represented by a builder's square and a vertical spear.

About St. Ursula and Her Shield

According to a legend that appeared in the tenth century, Ursula was the daughter of a Christian king in Britain and was granted a three-year postponement of a marriage she did not wish to a pagan prince.

With ten ladies in waiting, each attended by a thousand maidens, she embarked on a voyage across the North Sea, sailed up the Rhine to Basle, Switzerland, and then went to Rome. On their way back, they were all massacred by pagan Huns at Cologne in about 451, when Ursula refused to marry their chieftain.

She is represented by a white banner with a red cross.

About the Vatican Shield

This shield represents the Vatican in Rome, Italy.

About St. Vincent of Saragossa and His Shield

St. Vincent of Saragossa was a deacon in Spain and was persecuted by the Emperor Diocletian and subject to horrific torture.

After Vincent's death, God sent a raven to protect his body from being torn to bits by wild animals.

He is represented by a raven.

About St. Lucy and Her Shield

A young Christian woman who had vowed her life to the service of Christ. Her mother tried to arrange a marriage for her with a pagan. Lucy apprently knew that her mother would not be convinced by a young girl's vow so she devised a plan to convince her mother that Christ was a much more powerful partner for life. Through prayers at the tomb of Saint Agatha, her mother's long illness was cured miraculously. The grateful mother was now ready to listen to Lucy's desire to give her money to the poor and commit her life to God.

Unfortunately, the rejected bridegroom did not see the same light and he betrayed Lucy to governor Dioletian. She is represented by a dish with two eyes on it. This refers to another legend in which Lucy's eyes were put out by Diocletian as part of his torture. The legend concludes with God restoring Lucy's eyes.

About St. Agatha and Her Shield

In the legend of her life, we are told that she belonged to a rich, important family.

When she was young, she dedicated her life to God and resisted any men who wanted to marry her. One of these men, Quintian, was of a high enough rank that he felt he could force her to acquiesce.

Knowing she was a Christian in a time of persecution, he had her arrested and brought before the judge--himself. He expected her to give in when faced with torture and possible death, but she simply affirmed her belief in God by praying: "Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my heart, and you know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep: make me worthy to overcome the devil."

When she continued to profess her faith in Jesus, Quintian had her tortured. He refused her any medical care, but God gave her all the care she needed in the form of a vision of St. Peter. When she was tortured again, she died after saying a final pray: "Lord, my Creator, you have always protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer. Receive my soul."

Because one of the tortures she supposedly suffered was to have her breasts cut off, she was often depicted carrying her breasts on a plate.