Diocese of Nashville

DIOCESE OF NASHVILLE (Dioecesis Nashvillensis)

Country: United States
Denomination: Roman Catholic

Established: 1837

Official blazon
English	blazon wanted

Origin/meaning

The arms were inspired by those of Pope Gregory XVI, the pope who erected the diocese. The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and is also taken from the arms belonging to someone in the Nash family. The city is named for Francis Nash, one of the ten Continental Army and colonial militia generals killed in the American War of Independence.

The gules is a reference to the Incarnation and also a reference to the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35 describes the Incarnation as being by the Holy Spirit).

The azure field and argent mullets are taken from and then differenced from the arms of Gregory XVI; the argent field is also from his arms. The azure and three mullets also represent the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as the three Grand Divisions of the state of Tennessee, which was already divided into three when the diocese was created, the only diocese for the entire state at the time.

Arms of Bishops

Richard Pius Miles (1837-1860)
James Whelan (1860-1864)
Patrick Augustine Feehan (1865-1880)
Joseph Rademacher (1883-1893)
Thomas Sebastian Byrne (1894-1923)
Alphonse John Smith (1923-1935)
William Lawrence Adrian (1936-1969)
Joseph Aloysius Durick (1969-1975)
James Daniel Niedergeses (1975-1992)
Edward Urban Kmiec (1992-2004)
David Raymond Choby (2005-2018)
John Mark Spalding (2018-present)

Literature:

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