The New Coat of Arms of Pope Benedict XVI has been released by the Bavarian diocese of Munich and Freising, of which Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was once archbishop. The three-sectored shield contains a crowned Ethiopian, a bear, and a mussel. According to the Associated Press via Newsday:
The bear, which is saddled with heavy packs, symbolizes the weight of the papal
office, the diocese said in a statement.
It has its origins in a Bavarian legend concerning the diocese's patron,
Korbinian, who encountered the animal while on a trip to Rome. The bear ate
Korbinian's mule, and God saddled it with the mule's packs.
The mussel dates back to a parable by St. Augustine -- about whose works the
former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote his final thesis -- and symbolizes
"diving into the groundless sea of God," the diocese said.
The new coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI has been released by the Bavarian diocese of Munich and Freising, of which Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was once archbishop. The three-sectored shield contains a crowned Ethiopian, a bear, and a mussel. According to the Associated Press via Newsday:
The bear, which is saddled with heavy packs, symbolizes the weight of the papal
office, the diocese said in a statement.
It has its origins in a Bavarian legend concerning the diocese's patron,
Korbinian, who encountered the animal while on a trip to Rome. The bear ate
Korbinian's mule, and God saddled it with the mule's packs.
The mussel dates back to a parable by St. Augustine -- about whose works the
former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote his final thesis -- and symbolizes
"diving into the groundless sea of God," the diocese said.