Leo XIV Coat of Arms
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Following the practices of heraldry used among the nobility of the civil world, it is also customary for popes and bishops to have a coat of arms representing their history and their aspirations as princes of the Church. The follow description of Pope Leo's Coat of Arms was supplied by the Vatican Press office, assisted by don Antonio Pompili, Vice President of the Italian Heraldic Genealogical Institute.
Blazon
The left field is blue with a silver fleur-de-lis; the right is white, with a flaming heart pieced by an arrow, entirely red, and resting on an uncovered book.Above the shield there is a silver mitre, adorned with three gold bands joined by a gold vertical post, with fluttering red infulae, fringed with gold and adorned with gold crosses; in front of the infulae there are the crossed Petrine keys, gold (bend) and silver (bend sinister), linked by a red cord.
Explanation: In the other field, white in colour, there is the emblem of the Augustinian Order, a flaming heart pieced by an arrow. This image symbolically represents the words of Saint Augustine in the book of Confessions: “Sagittaveras tu cor meum charitate tua” (“You have wounded my heart with your love”). It is an element that has always been present in the emblem of the Augustinians from the sixteenth century onwards, albeit with several variations, such as the presence of the book symbolizing the Word of God capable of transforming the heart of every man, as it was for Augustine. The book also recalls the enlightened works that the Doctor of Grace gave to the Church and humanity. White (in an ivory shade in the papal coat of arms) is a recurrent colour in other coats of arms of religious orders, and can be read as a symbol of holiness and purity.
Motto
IN ILLO UNO UNUM
Explanation:
The motto, “In Illo uno unum” (“In the one Christ we are one”), recalls the words of Saint Augustine in a sermon, the Exposition on Psalm 128, explaining that “in the one Christ we are one”, “one in the One Christ”.
[Source: Vatican Press Office]