THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS of THE THIRD ORDER REGULAR Centered on the lower portion of the Archbishop's coat-of-arms, in an escutcheon, is a differenced version of the coat-of-arms of the Franciscan Third Order Regular, of which the Archbishop is both a Friar and the Minister Provincial. It consists of the traditional emblem of the Franciscan Order, known as "The Conformities". On a field of blue, is displayed the bare arm of Our Lord Jesus Christ crossed over and in front of the gray robed arm of St Francis of Assisi, both bearing the marks of the Stigmata or Sacred Wounds which were made by the nails in Our Lord's hands when He was crucified, and which St Francis, who is known as "The Mirror of Christ", bore as a precious gift from God, in imitation of his Divine Savior. Projecting above the crossed arms is a golden cross. The base or lower portion bears the Crown of Thorns and the traditional three Nails of Our Lord's Passion, all displayed in black, and placed upon a golden field. The Crown of Thorns and the three Nails are the traditional symbol of the Third Order of Saint Francis, and tradition has it, that St Louis IX, King of France, who is the principal Patron Saint of the Third Order, rescued these sacred relics from the Holy Land in 1239 during the Crusades. THE MOTTO The Archbishop's motto is also the traditional motto of the Ford Family..."Lucrum Christi Mihi", which when translated means: "To me, Christ is gain (the reward)." It is an allusion to the scriptural passage in Philippians 1: 20-21 "According to my expectation and hope; that in nothing I shall be confounded, but with all confidence, as always, so now also shall Christ be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me, to live is Christ: and to die is gain." THE ENSIGN Ensigning the Archbishop's coat-of-arms is the traditional double barred Archiepiscopal Cross in gold. Over the arms of the Diocese is
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