The Roman Catholic Church in southern Africa follows worldwide Roman Catholic heraldic practices. The dioceses have arms, as do some and parishes. Clergymen bear arms with the additaments appropriate to their status, such as clerical hats or mitres.

Church heraldic practice has developed over the centuries. From 1853 to 1960, it was directed by the Collegio Araldico in the Vatican, but since 1960 there has been no oversight, only occasional papal policy decisions.

Roman Catholic worship was introduced into the South Africa by the Dutch in 1804, but under the subsequent British administration Roman Catholic clergy were prohibited from 1806 until 1837.

Bishops' Conference

The four southern African provinces work together through the SA Catholic Bishops' Conference, formed in 1947. Its arms are Per pale Gules and Argent, in chief an ancient crown and in base a mullet both counterchanged. The arms are ensigned of a bishop's mitre. Red has been the Church's colour since the Middle Ages.

Archdioceses and Dioceses
The parishes were organised in 1951 into four provinces, each consisting of an archdiocese and a number of dioceses. Each diocese and archdiocese is entitled to arms, which are ensigned of a mitre, and have a cross, and a crozier behind them.

The arms of the Archdiocese of Durban are Gules, a pallium Argent charged with four crosses Sable and in chief a mullet Argent. The mullet is, presumably, the "star of Natal". Those of the Archdiocese of Pretoria are Sable, a pallium Argent charged with four crosses Sable; on a chief Gules three bees volant Or. The bees no doubt come from the Pretoria civic arms.

Parishes

A few individual parishes have registered their own arms. A recent example is the Congregation of the Oratory of St Philip Neri in Oudtshoorn, whose arms (BoH 2004) are Azure, a heart enflamed Gules fimbriated Or between in chief three eight-pointed faceted stars of the third placed 1 and 2 and in base two protea flowers addorsed slipped and leaved Or seeded Argent.

Other Organisations
Some of the Catholic orders which are active in South Africa are armigerous, and the arms of the parent orders in Europe are therefore to be seen in this country. An example is the arms of the Dominican Order, Gyronny Sable and Argent, a cross flory counterchanged, which are borne by several schools run by the order. Some of their girls' schools display the arms on a lozenge.

The arms of the Catholic Order of the Knights of Da Gama (CoA 1957, BoH 1965), allude to the 15th-century Portuguese admiral Vasco da Gama who named Natal: Argent, a chief Azure, over all a cross pattee Or. Blue and white were the Portuguese colours in the 15th century, and the cross was displayed on ships' sails.

Clergy
At one time, archbishops impaled their personal arms with those of their archdioceses, placing a mitre above the arms and a crozier and cross behind them. The mitre and crozier were discontinued in 1969, and impalement with the diocesan arms became optional in 1978. Since 1969, all clergymen have placed a galero (clerical hat) above their arms; the colour and the number of tassels hanging from each side indicate rank, e.g. an archbishop's is green with ten tassels each side.

The general custom is for bishops to assume arms on consecration. Their arms often allude to their faith and Church background. Those of Archbishop Lawrence Henry, for instance, allude to the Irish order in which he was raised, to St Lawrence, and to evangelisation: Per chevron Or and Gules, in chief dexter a Celtic cross Vert and sinister a gridiron Sable above a flame proper, and in base an anchor Or between two fish hauriant Argent.

As most of the current bishops and archbishops were consecrated in the 1980s, their arms presumably date from that decade. To judge from the SACBC website, some of the arms are pictorial rather than armorial, and at least five of them omit the cross behind the shield.

References/Sources/Links

South African Heraldry Website © Arthur Radburn