In the One Christ, We Are One
At the time of his nomination as a bishop, the candidate has to choose an episcopal motto as well as a coat of arms. This coat of arms has symbols, which are particular to the bishop-elect. One who is named as an ordinary also includes the coat of arms of the diocese to which he is assigned. The bishop keeps his original coat of arms, even if he is transferred to another diocese, with the exception that the coat of arms of the diocese to which he is transferred replaces the coat of arms of the former diocese. The pope also has a coat of arms, but when he is elected it is the original one he chose as bishop without any diocese included. Also included on the coat of arms is an episcopal motto, usually a Scripture quote, which the bishop-elect chooses.
Pope Leo XIV had chosen for his episcopal motto the words In illo uno unum, which is translated In the one Christ, we are one, recalling the words of St. Augustine in a sermon on Psalm 128. Pope Leo XIV has great devotion to St. Augustine as a member of the Augustinian order. The pope has already, in his ministry of a few weeks, demonstrated the modeling of his spirituality on that of St. Augustine, and has spoken of him on several occasions.
The right field of Pope Leo’s coat of arms is the emblem of the Augustinian order, which is a flaming heart pierced by an arrow and sitting on a book. This symbolizes the words of St. Augustine in his famous work, The Confessions: “You have wounded my heart with your love.” The book on the shield represents the Word of God, which transforms the heart of every person as it did for St. Augustine. The book also represents the many books that St. Augustine has given to the Church on theological matters, which have been so influential in its life.
The flaming heart is quite significant during this month of June, which is dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Indeed, Jesus took our human heart to Himself in order to bring us into the very heart of the life of God. The glorified human heart of Christ is now part of the life of the Trinity, reminding us of the centrality of the heart in God’s love for us and our love for God. While St. Augustine was a great intellectual with a great mind, represented by the book upon which the flaming heart sits, he was fully a man of the heart, realizing that it is love which is the center of God and the human person. A truly human attitude is one that combines the mind and the heart from which the expression of the intellect flows. The working of the human intellect is not the same as the working of a computer.
One of the concerns which Pope Leo XIV immediately manifested for his papacy is the challenge of artificial intelligence which is rapidly taking hold. He specifically expressed that he took the name of Leo following his predecessor, Leo XIII, who lived more than 150 years ago during the beginning of the 20th century. Leo XIII faced many new challenges which were threatening the respect for the human person, with the rights and dignities which are inherent in human nature. These included socialism and unchecked capitalism. He wrote a famous encyclical, Rerum Novarum, regarding new things which precisely addressed those challenges at that time. Pope Leo XIV has made clear that he needs to face the challenges before us, as did Pope Leo XIII, facing the degradation of the human person, and one of them can be artificial intelligence.
While artificial intelligence can bring a great deal of good, it can also cause a great deal of disruption in regard to what the meaning of human life is all about. In fact, this is already happening. It is the human heart that expresses who we are as made in the image and likeness of God. The human intellect grows in wisdom from the experience of life and interaction with other human persons. Artificial intelligence operates from technological data and not from the wisdom of the heart. Artificial intelligence cannot perceive the true meaning of life, nor make true human decisions that incorporate the moral values of life and of love. Pope Leo is rightly concerned that our society does not become so dependent on artificial intelligence as to lose the heart which God has given to us and the wisdom which comes from His Word alone. Pope Francis had already begun to address this matter.
The left field of Pope Leo’s coat of arms is that of the fleur-de-lis with a blue background. It is symbolic of Mary and the pope’s deep devotion to her. He has already demonstrated this devotion by his first visit to the Augustinian Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel to pray before her icon. He also expressed to the crowd at the Vatican Gardens at the closing of the Marian month of May, “Let us walk with Mary.” Truly, to walk with Mary is to walk with her to her Son. The flaming heart pierced by the Word of God in the opposite field of the pope’s coat of arms reminds us that Mary’s human heart was pierced in the same way. It also reminds us that the Sacred Heart of Jesus became flesh in the womb of Mary and that His heart and her heart are one. Mary is the perfect human person and emphasizes that our human nature has a value and a dignity which comes from God and which has a purpose from Him alone. Artificial intelligence cannot contradict this nor can a computer take its place.
There is no doubt that Pope Leo XIV will give us much wisdom, spiritual insight and direction, which is so well expressed in his coat of arms. Indeed, we are one as the Church because we are one in Christ.
Viva il Papa!
Most Reverend Gerald Barbarito
