Coat of Arms of our Bishop Robert Shaheen

These arms are composed of a white field (symbol of purity) upon which the primary symbol is the "Cedar of Lebanon," as it appears in nature sitting to give graphic representation to the Title of the Diocese: This symbol is combined with and placed below a crescent encircled with a scattering of pure-white stars against a heavenly blue background to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Titular of the Diocese, by calling to mind the description of Mary that is given to us in the Book of Revelation... "a woman clothed with Sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Rev. 12:1). The twelve stars also have particular significance to the Maronites for they express the Bishops' Status as the enthroned successor of twelve apostles. Below the cedar is a pair of silver angel wings signifying: "The See/Seat" (of the Diocese of Our Lady of Lebanon) located at the "City of Angels," Los Angeles. For his personal arms (right side) of the design, his Excellency Bishop Shaheen has adopted a design that reflects the story of his ministry: against a golden (symbol of prosperity) field stands a white Antiochene Cross, closely associated with the Maronite Church and her Patriarchate. Upon the Cross is placed a brown (earthly cedar wood) carpenter's Right Angle, symbol of St. Joseph, a favorite Patron Saint of the Bishop. On one side of the Cross is a gules (red) stone-and-earth hand-built bridge rising above the water, a design borrowed from the City of Bridgeport in Connecticut, the Diocesan Seat of the Bishop's childhood home of Danbury. On the other side of the Cross is a laser-modern Silver Arch, also rising above the water, a symbol of the City of St. Louis in which the Bishop served as Pastor for thirty-four (34) years prior to his Episcopal Appointment. The blue and white waters below the cross recall the Mystic River of Connecticut and the Mississippi River of Missouri... The waters also recall to mind the Crossing of the Maronite Rite over the oceanic sea waves to America. Thus, the symbols speak of the Bishop building up the Maronite Church from his origins in Connecticut to his Ministry in St. Louis. For his motto, Bishop Shaheen has selected the phrase: "BE NOT AFRAID," written in English and in Syriac. These words are taken from the Gospel of St. Matthew (14:27) and have been a constant refrain in the papacy of Pope John Paul, II who appointed Bishop Shaheen, and express to us the Bishop's firm faith in Jesus Christ. The gold processional cross at the top signifies Christ over-and-above all of the Earth.