The Coat of Arms of His Excellency Jerome E. Listecki
The coat of arms of His Excellency, Jerome Edward Listecki was designed by his good friend the Reverend Anthony Brankin. The coat of arms reflects his personal heritage, his life as a priest, and his life as a bishop.
His Excellency’s deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is reflected in the predominance of the color red on the shield. The remainder of the design consists of silver (white) which, along with the red, are the colors of the Polish national flag honoring the Polish ethnic heritage of His Excellency that has come to him from his parents Harry and Alfreda (Kasprzyk) Listecki.
The dominant charge in the design is an open book, reflecting Bishop Listecki’s baptismal patron, St. Jerome, who is credited with the translation of the Sacred Scriptures into Latin, called the “Latin Vulgate.” The open book also reflects Bishop Listecki’s many years of priestly ministry engaged in seminary education, teaching moral theology at Quigley Seminary, St. Joseph Seminary and Mundelein Seminary. The book of laws is emblematic that Bishop Listecki is both a civil lawyer and a canon lawyer. Since both bodies of law are responsible to the Law of Christ, the book displays the Latin phrase “LEX CHRISTI LEX CARITAS” (“the Law of Christ is the Law of Love”).
The open book is placed on two crossed golden swords reflecting Bishop Listecki’s deep devotion to St. Michael the Archangel, Defender of the Faith. It also signifies the many years His Excellency has been a military chaplain, currently holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (retired) in the United States Army. The golden swords also signify that at the time of his appointment to the episcopacy, he was pastor of the Jesuit St. Ignatius Church in Chicago.
The conjoined book and swords are placed below a silver (white) fleur-de-lis, honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary. Also above the book and swords is a silver (white) eight-pointed star, symbolizing the light of truth, which is placed in the design to honor St. Dominic, the founder of the religious Order of Preachers.
For his motto, His Excellency has chosen the phrase “LIFE IS CHRIST.” The phrase comes from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (Phil 1:18-26) expressing His Excellency’s deep belief that, for Catholic Christians, every aspect of life is necessarily intertwined with faith and belief in Jesus Christ and the need to respect life, so endangered in today’s society.
The coat of arms is completed with external ornaments showing the heraldic insignia of a prelate of the rank of bishop by the instruction of the Holy See of March 31, 1969. These include a gold processional cross placed behind the shield and extending above and below the shield, and a pontifical hat, called a “gallero,” with its six tassels, in three rows, on either side of the shield, all in green.