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Cassock Pursuivant

Last night the G&B played host to a lecture by one Fr. Guy Selvester, America’s ecclesiastical heraldist extraordinaire (arms at right). The good Reverend clearly has an unadulterated and unaffected love for heraldry, which, as he was very keen to point out, is unquestionably both an art and a science. He also has flaming red sideburns which give one the vague impression that he was a Civil War chaplain in a past life. After a brief introduction from a member of the G&B’s heraldry committee, the cassocked Father Guy gave a very clear and well-delivered talk, amply displaying his broad and deep knowledge of the subject, especially when responding to off-the-cuff inquiries from the audience.

Of course no talk on ecclesiastical heraldry would be complete without mentioning the late Bruno Heim, the expert on church heraldry as well as Grand Prior of the Constantinian Order and the first full papal nuncio to the Court of St. James since the Reformation. Heim’s book Heraldry in the Catholic Church (available in the St Andrews University Library) is the essential work on the subject. Fr. Selvester interestingly pointed out that Blessed Pope John XXIII intended to found a heraldic authority for the Church. He was dissuaded from this task by none other than Archbishop Heim, who believed the Church covered too far broad a swathe to effectively and appropriately constitute its own heraldic authority mindful of the vernacular traditions.

The lecture was held in the Portrait Gallery of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, which has one of the niftiest flags in the Empire State.

Without departing from the bounds of propriety and charity, Fr. Selvester made known his disagreement with the heraldic innovations of our current Holy Father, Benedict XVI, while conceeding that they were begrudgingly acceptable and at least indicative that heraldry is indeed alive. Fr. Selvester praised the heraldic artwork of Marco Foppoli, ‘heir’, so to speak, to Heim’s legacy. Below is Foppoli’s version of Benedict XVI’s arms as they would traditionally be rendered, and then next to it at right, his depiction of the arms as they are currently being rendered.

It was a fascinating lecture, (organised by the College of Arms Foundation) and I strongly encourage the Whapsters and any other ecclesiastical nerds at the various Catholic colleges to see if they can rope Fr. Guy into speaking at their own institutions. As for the office of ‘Cassock Pursuivant’, I think it should be created for Fr. Selvester. Perhaps his colleagues at the American College of Heraldry will oblige.

Below, more work of Mr. Foppoli: At left, the arms of HMEH Fra. Andrew Bertie, Prince and Grand Master of the SMOM, whom you can buy toy miniatures of here). I confess ignorance to the bearer of the arms at right, but obviously he is a member of the Constantinian Order.

Published at 11:02 am on Thursday 15 September 2005. Categories: Benedict XVI Design Heraldry Journal Tags: , .
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