St. Blaise

Like many, I love the celebration of St. Blaise because of the special blessing of the throats that occurs on that day. Legend has it that St. Blaise saved someone who was choking on a fish bone, and for this reason the tradition has handed on a blessing of the throat. St. Blaise is also important to me, though, because he is the patron of my Bishop, Blase Cupich.

As my throat was blessed this morning, I was reminded of the Bishop's Coat of Arms. If one looks closely, one will notice that the chi-rho on the crest is composed of a crosier and two crossed candles, the symbols of a bishop and St. Blaise, respectively. The symbols on the left side of the Coat are those of the Diocese of Rapid City. The yellow field represents the gold of the Black Hills, and the Black Hills themselves are represented by the triangles pointed skyward. These are topped with clovers representing St. Patrick, the patron of our first cathedral. The white line in the bottom third represents the Missouri River which bisects the state of South Dakota and separates the Diocese of Rapid City from the Diocese of Sioux Falls. The circle beneath it represents the Lakota people, indigenous to our area. The green field upon which the circle lays represents the preeminence of agriculture in the diocese.