By Matthew Gambino • Posted May 15, 2025

Since the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8, his image has already become one of the most recognizable faces on the planet.

(Individuals may purchase his official portrait photo here from the Vatican. Parishes, schools, and institutions of the Church of Philadelphia may order the official photo here from the St. Jude Shop in Havertown.)

Like all pontiffs, Pope Leo has a coat of arms. It was revealed last weekend by Vatican News. Filled with symbols both personal and spiritual, the medieval heraldic device offers insights into the new pope’s life and ministry.

Framing the shield is the traditional papal tiara, a piece of ceremonial headwear no longer worn by popes, with its tassels intertwined with crossed keys. These are the symbols of St. Peter, the first pope to whom Jesus entrusted authority to lead the Church:

“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt. 16:19).

Atop the keys is a shield. Its upper half is blue with a fleur-de-lis, or lily, one traditional symbol of multiple themes including purity, the Holy Trinity, devotion to Mary, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It may also refer to Pope Leo’s parents’ roots in French, Italian, and Spanish heritages.

The lower half of the shield presents the figure of a closed book beneath a pierced heart aflame. The symbol refers to the conversion of St. Augustine, who described his conversion experience as a personal encounter with God, about whom he wrote: “You have pierced my heart with your Word.”

Pope Leo was ordained a priest of the Order of St. Augustine in 1982 and served as the order’s prior general, or worldwide leader, from 2001 to 2013.

Beneath the shield on the coat of arms is Pope Leo’s episcopal motto in Latin, “In Illo Uno Unum,” translated “In the One, We Are One.”

The motto is taken from the “Exposition on Psalm 127” by St. Augustine, in which he explained, “although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one. We are many and we are one — because we are united to him; and if our Head is in heaven, the members will follow.”

His motto was adopted when he was ordained a bishop for the Peruvian Diocese of Chiclayo in 2014 by Archbishop James P. Green, apostolic nuncio to Peru and a Philadelphia priest.

According to Vatican News, in 2023 then-Cardinal Robert Prevost explained the theological foundation of his motto.

It conveys that “unity and communion are truly part of the charism of the Order of St. Augustine, and also of my way of acting and thinking,” he said.

“I believe it is very important to promote communion in the Church, and we know well that communion, participation, and mission are the three key words of the Synod. So, as an Augustinian, for me promoting unity and communion is fundamental.”