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Diocesan Church Consultations on the Diocesan Plan for Parishes 2002-2007 to begin Highlights of Diocesan Pastoral Council Meeting Catholic Endowment Fund provides opportunity for gift giving to the diocese Tickets available for 1st annual Bishop Lucker Lecture
Special Report As Catholic Christians, we are each called to great holiness
Education Fr. Stubeda recognized for "distinguished service" Could you be the next CCW Woman of the Year? Need help with your New Year's resolution - check out CCW! High School Rally sponsors musicians
Worship & Spiritual Life Pope John Paul II expands the Rosary with "Mysteries of Light"
Calendar January Formation & Education Calendar
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Diocese of New Ulm - January 2003 by Fr. Douglas L. Grams On December 2, 2002, Bishop John C. Nienstedt, third bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm, visited Morton, MN, where he presented the newly designed New Ulm Diocesan Coat of Arms to the Tribal Council of the Lower Dakota people and their hereditary chief, Chief Ernest Wabasha. As in the words of the late Bishop Raymond A. Lucker, second Bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm, the new Coat of Arms "represents a token of friendship to the native people of this state." The Coat of Arms is the emblem of a person, place, or institution that is traditional in the Catholic Church. As a people and a place, claiming an identity as the most rural Diocese in the nation, it is fitting that the prairie/field has been the permanent foundation of our Diocesan Coat of Arms since the Diocese was established in 1957. In fact, the symbol of the field of yellow grain divided by the Minnesota River remains intact since W.F.J. Ryan designed the first Diocesan Coat of Arms. When the original Coat of Arms was designed it included a second layer of symbols which depicted the three interlocking fish signifying the Holy Trinity for the Cathedral. This layer also included the shield from the City of Ulm, Germany in order to make a connection with the homeland of the early settlers. The original shield also included symbols which were incorporated to signify an event in history, namely the Dakota Conflict. Drops of blood covered the field of grain depicting the blood shed during the conflict. A snake, which to the Dakota people, is a derogatory term used only by their enemies, was placed in the river to represent the Dakota people who first inhabited this prairie. Because the symbols of blood and the snake misrepresented the Dakota people and the Dakota conflict, Bishop Lucker stated during his retirement celebration speech on February 18, 2001, that as his last official act as bishop, he would suppress the current Coat of Arms. Shortly following Bishop Nienstedt’s installation, the revisions to the Coat of Arms became one of his top priorities. The process began with professional designer Jan DeLeo of New Ulm creating an initial graphic. The Diocese then sought approval of the design by the Tribal Council of the Lower Dakota people. The next step was Bishop Nienstedt’s recommendation of the assistance of Deacon Paul Sullivan, a specialist in designing Diocesan shields. In April of 2002, the new Diocesan Coat of Arms was complete. Incorporated into the design, as suggested by the Dakota people, was a geometric butterfly, known in Dakota as Oihanke Wanica or "everlasting life". Deacon Sullivan also completed in April the new "combined" Coat of Arms which is a melding of the new Diocesan Coat of Arms and Bishop Nienstedt’s personal Coat of Arms. As Rev. Mr. Paul Sullivan commented, "the re-designed Coat of Arms of 2002 better reflects the rich heritage of the local people and the Church of south-central Minnesota." Fr. Douglas L. Grams is Vicar General of the Diocese of New Ulm.
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