The personal arms which a diocesan bishop adopts are impaled with the arms of his diocese. The shield in the coat of arms of Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens is divided vertically with the shield of the Diocese of Crookston on the left side (heraldic “dexter”) and his own arms on the right (or “sinister”) side. This symbolizes the marriage between a bishop and a diocese.
The coat of arms of Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens is divided into four sections by the St. Andrew cross. Like his patron, St. Andrew, Bishop Cozzens wishes his entire life to be conformed to Christ through laying down his life for Christ’s bride, the Church (Eph 5:25-26). At the center of the cross is the Sacred Heart of Jesus, representing Bishop Cozzens’ desire to make present through his episcopal ministry the love, mercy and healing that flow from the pierced Heart of Christ for the salvation of the world.
Along the lower left arm of the cross is the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to whom Bishop Cozzens entrusts his life and ministry as a bishop. Sharing with her in the sufferings of discipleship (represented by the sword in her heart), he hopes to share in the fruitfulness that flows from this suffering (represented by the roses around her heart). Along the lower right arm of the cross is the Heart of St. Joseph, with a staff of lilies representing his purity and his identity as a guardian of the Holy Family. Like St. Joseph, Bishop Cozzens takes the Church as his bride in chaste love and seeks to love all her children with a Father’s compassionate and steadfast heart. St. Joseph is also known as “Protector of Virgins,” a title that reflects Bishop Cozzens’ deep love and gratitude for consecrated religious. He is grateful to be installed as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Crookston during the Year of St. Joseph, proclaimed by the Holy See to commemorate the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph being declared Patron of the Catholic Church.
The top or “chief” of Bishop Cozzens’ arms hails a landscape of mountains representing Bishop Cozzens’ native state of Colorado, where he learned to climb mountains, as well as the call of every Christian to seek ever-greater heights in the spiritual life. At the base is a field of blue and white waves taken from the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, in which he was ordained to the priesthood and served for the first 24 years of his priestly life. The water reminds us of the new life of baptism which is the beginning of every Christian’s life in Christ’s love.
The arms of the diocese are on a field of red and white waves, representing the Red Lake River on which Crookston is located and the Mississippi River, which has its source in the diocese.
The croziers, representing the office of bishop, are placed in jurisdictional impalement. They represent the Office of the Apostles and their successors, the bishops, who are entrusted with feeding the lambs and the sheep in accordance with the command of Christ (Jn 21:15-17). The crosses on the shield resemble the cross in the arms of the Diocese of Duluth, from which the diocese of Crookston was split.
The blue roundel and the white crescent portray Our Lady’s colors. The crescent honors the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, her title as titular of the cathedral and Patroness of the United States of America. This symbol is derived from the Book of Revelation: “And a great sign appeared in Heaven, a woman clothed with the sun and the moon was under her feet and upon her head twelve stars” (Rev 12:1).
Around the border of the shield is seen a three-ply cord, which represents the importance that Bishop Cozzens attaches to priestly fraternity, as well as the gratitude he has for the fraternal life he has shared in the Companions of Christ, a fraternity of diocesan priests. The three-ply cord comes from the Book of Ecclesiastes: “Where alone man may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord is not easily broken” (Eccl 4:12). Behind the shield is a gold Celtic cross symbolizing the Irish ancestry of Bishop Cozzens. The five red stones set within the center of the cross represent the five wounds of Christ. As St. Peter tells us, “By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pt 2:24). Through these wounds, Bishop Cozzens desires to make known Christ’s healing love.
Bishop Cozzens has chosen as his motto, “Praebe Nobis Cor Tuum,” which translates, “Give us your heart.” The motto is taken from the final line of a prayer by St. Louis DeMontfort to Our Lady. This prayer was dear to both St. John Paul II (“Totus Tuus” — the first line of the prayer) and St. Theresa of Kolkata (“Praebe nobis cor tuum” — the last line of the prayer), to whom Bishop Cozzens has a special devotion. This motto expresses his desire to be united with the Heart of Jesus through the Heart of Mary and to lead others to this same union.
