Corporate Heraldry in the Catholic Church

Corporate heraldry refers to the coats of arms used by corporate bodies. In secular heraldry, this could be business, clubs, or organizations. In ecclesiastical heraldry, this refers to the coats of arms of things like cathedrals, dioceses, or religious orders. Unlike personal heraldry, corporate heraldry in the Church is not very widely used, but similarly to personal heraldry, shield designs are not regulated, rather, just the ornaments placed around it. Below I list only the corporate heraldic ornaments that one is most likely to run across.

Patriarchates, archdiocese, dioceses -- All these ornament their coat of arms with a precious miter with two infulae (embroidered lappets).

Abbeys -- Like dioceses, abbeys may use a miter with two infulae. They may alternatively, however, display behind the shield a veiled crozier, the same crozier an abbot displays.

Basillicas -- Since ancient times, basilicas have made use of special insignia: the conopeum and the tintinnabulum. The conopeum is a large umbrella composed of alternating red and yellow stripes, and the tintinnabulum is a bell mounted on a pole. Heraldically, only the conopeum is displayed. In addition to the conopeum, basilicas have had since Paul VI's decree Domus Dei the priviledge of displaying the crossed keys of Peter used by the pope. This is to symbolize their special relationship to the pope and their duty to faithfully disseminate magisterial teachings of the Holy See.

Archdiocese of Baltimore United States		Basilica of St. Louis (Old Cathedral) St. Louis, Missouri, United States