Displaying items by tag: bishop

Most Reverend Shane Mackinlay
Eighth Bishop of Sandhurst

In the language of heraldry, Bishop Shane’s personal arms are:

• Gules, two pickaxes in saltire, blades upwards Or; in chief an open book Argent bound Or with the Greek letter Α on the dexter page and the Greek letter Ω on the sinister page both Sable.

or, in plain English:

• On a red field, two gold pickaxes in saltire, blades upwards and, in the top part of the shield, an open silver book bound in gold with the Greek letter Α on the left page and the Greek letter Ω on the right page.

His motto is taken from John 10:10
I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.

The crossed pickaxes are the tools of goldmining, which was integral to the founding of both Ballarat and Bendigo. The bible comes from the arms of Catholic Theological College and reflects its motto, Tolle lege, the admonition that prompted St Augustine to take up and read the bible, which led to his baptism.

As is traditional for the coat of arms of a bishop, the arms are placed before an episcopal cross and are ensigned with a green galero (Roman hat) with six fiocchi (tassels) on each side.

Bishop Shane’s personal arms will be combined with those of the Diocese of Sandhurst by impalement, a traditional way of denoting a bishop’s union with his diocese.

In the language of heraldry, the diocesan arms are:

• Quarterly, per saltire or and azure on the former in fess two roses gules, in chief an estoile (eight-pointed star) and in base a representation of the Paderborn Cross argent.

The gold of the field represents the goldfields, which are located within the diocese. The blue and the roses represent the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, who, under the title Our Lady of Good Counsel, is Patroness of the Diocese. The Paderborn Cross at the base is an ancient Christian symbol discovered in an eighth-century grave beneath the Cathedral at Paderborn, Germany, which was the home city of Dr Henry Backhaus, the pioneer priest of the Bendigo Goldfields.

The diocesan arms and Bishop Shane’s personal arms were designed by Richard d’Apice AM KCSG and Fr. Guy Selvester and illustrated by Sandy Turnbull.

Bishop Shane has three main responsibilities:

To Teach
A bishop is the principal teacher in his diocese and has a responsibility to preach the Word of God to his people. He must ensure that those delegated to teach in his name, namely priests, teachers, catechists and others, teach the truth.

To Govern
This refers to meeting the needs of the local community (material, social, personal and spiritual) as well as ensuring that Church laws are observed.

He is ultimately responsible for training and supplying priests for parishes, for the finances of the diocese and for all church property.

A bishop has the power to make Church laws, be a judge in Church matters and to enforce observance of these laws. These laws generally relate to worship, preaching, administration of the sacraments, safeguarding the faith and morals of the faithful and religious instruction.

To Sanctify
A bishop is responsible for ensuring that the sacraments are administered and has the special authority to ordain priests and to confirm.

It is usually the case, then, for a bishop to ordain the priests who are to serve in his diocese and to travel around the diocese and administer the Sacrament of Confirmation.

He must also ensure that Mass is celebrated in the diocese every Sunday and on major feast days.

Other obligations
Must live in the diocese for most of the year, unless on official business in Rome or when attending a Church Council.

Has a serious duty to be present at his cathedral during the seasons of Lent and Advent, and on the feasts of Easter, Pentecost, Christmas and Corpus Christi.

Every five years a bishop must send a report to Rome.

Bishops must visit Rome to meet with the Pope at least once every five years and visit the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul.

Bishops must regularly visit each part of their diocese.

Bishops must attend Synods (meetings of Bishops) when they are called.

What symbols are associated with the Bishop?

Crosier: The shepherd's staff used on ceremonial occasions. It symbolises being the shepherd of the people in the diocese.

Mitre: The triangular headgear, also worn by the Pope. There are three kinds depending on the liturgical season, and it is removed whenever the bishop is about to pray.

Pectoral Cross: The large ornamental cross worn as a necklace.

Ring: A ring worn on the third finger of the right hand. Some people kiss the bishop's hand as a sign of their love for him and the recognition that he is a living icon of Christ in the midst of the Church.

Zucchetto:  Bishops wear a purple zucchetto on their head while cardinals wear red and the Pope wears white.

Coat of Arms: A bishop chooses symbols appropriate to himself and his diocese. The arms of the diocese may occupy the left side whilst his personal arms occupy the right.

Motto: In order to motivate the faithful and to set himself a specific direction, a new bishop will select a set of meaningful words, often written in the official language of the Catholic Church, Latin, on the bottom of the Coat of Arms.  Bishop Shane's motto is "That they may have life to the full".  Taken from JOhn 10:10 "I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full." 

How do we address our Bishop?
In conversation, Bishop Shane would like to be addressed as ... Bishop Shane. (The formal way to address a Bishop is 'My Lord'). 

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo
As we gather for the Mass of Chrism in this beautiful Cathedral, we are given the opportunity to reflect together on a significant aspect of our faith. Traditionally, the Chrism Mass helps us to focus on the sacramental life of the Church, as we bless the holy oils that will be used in the celebration of four of the seven sacraments. This reminds us that God communicates divine life to each of us by means of the sacraments.

The death of someone close to us always confronts us with our own mortality, although when the person is of advanced years we may seek to distance ourselves from death with the thought that a great deal of time separates us from the reality because we are not yet at such an age. Never the less, we cannot dismiss the inevitability of our own death. The second reading of today's Mass may further disturb us with the reminder of the encounter with God our Judge, following our death.

Solemn Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral

It is on occasions such as this, when we gather together in this magnificent Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, that we remember with deep gratitude that we were drawn into the life of God and indeed became part of God's family when we were Baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Most Reverend Leslie Rogers Tomlinson DD
Seventh Bishop of Sandhurst

Since coming to the Diocese Bishop Tomlinson has considered the adoption by the Diocese of a Coat of Arms.  Apparently Bishop Daly commissioned a Coat of Arms for the Diocese in 1979, but it was never used.  With the help of a number of people a suitable coat of arms for the Diocese was devised. 

As a consequence of the adoption of a Diocesan Coat of Arms, the diocesan coat of arms was incorporated into Bishop Les' episcopal coat of arms, hence the left side of the shield is the diocesan coat of arms and the right his personal elements.

The right side of Bishop Tomlinson’s episcopal coat of arms display:

• the Sacred Heart, originally adopted from the arms of Archbishop Knox - recalling the Sacred Heart Parish at Mildura where he received his earliest formal education, Archbishop Knox’s early encouragement and support of his priestly vocation, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart who taught him at St Paul’s National Seminary at Kensington and the Parish of the Sacred Heart at Carlton which was his first appointment as Parish Priest. Perhaps prophetically, it also represents the Cathedral of the Diocese of Sandhurst
• roses emblematic of the Mother of God and here representative of Our Lady of Good Counsel, the Patroness of the Diocese of Sandhurst, thus, traditional in the arms of bishops of the diocese, and
• the emblem of St Patrick’s Cathedral - recalling his period of service as a priest and bishop in the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

The motto “In Christ’s name” recalls the invocation preceding the priest’s entry onto the sanctuary at the beginning of the Mass and encapsulates the dedication of all efforts for the sake of the Gospel.

In the language of heraldry, the arms are blazoned as: Gules in fess two roses between in chief a bezant Or charged with a Sacred Heart proper and in base a bezant Or charged with three chevronells conjoined the centre one throughout terminating in a Latin Cross Or.

The arms were designed by Richard d’Apice and Fr Guy Selvester and illustrated by Sandy Turnbull.

Most Rev. Leslie Tomlinson
2011-2019