Bishop Harrington's Coat of Arms

By heraldic tradition, the arms of the bishop of a diocese, called the "Ordinary," are joined to the arms of his jurisdiction, seen in the dexter impalement (left side) of the shield. In this case, these are arms of the Diocese of Winona.. These are composed of a red field on which is placed a silver (white) cross and on the cross is placed a blue lozenge (diamond) charged with a silver rose.

The Indian name "Winona" has been translated "fairest daughter of the tribe." To Catholics, this description is, at once, fulfilled by Our Lady; and her fairest symbol, the rose, has been placed on a lozenge (used instead of a shield to signify the arms of a virgin or a widow) to heraldically represent the name of the diocese and its see city.

For his personal arms, seen in the sinister impalement (right side) of the shield, Bishop Harrington has retained the arms he adopted when he was named Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit. These personal arms are composed of three sections. The upper left (chief dexter) is the traditional design of the Harrington family, a black field with a silver (white) knot, known as "a fret." Below that field is a section, made up of blue and silver (white) diamonds with black spots, called "ermine." This is the traditional design for the Cronin family. By using these two designs, Bishop Harrington honors the heritage of his parents, John Peter and Norah Cronin . Harrington.

On the other side of the bishop's personal design is a red field on which stands a gold lion holding a gold crowned silver heart. These are the arms of the Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, which Bishop Harrington served as Rector and which had a significant effect on his life and ministries.

For his motto, Bishop Harrington has retained the phrase "Have life more abundantly." By the use of this phrase, taken from Saint John's Gospel (John 10:10), the bishop expresses his deep belief that Christ came and died for us so that we, as much as humanly possible, might share the life of God, in Heaven, for eternity.

The device is completed with the external ornaments which are a gold processional cross, placed in back of the shield and extending above and below the shield, and a pontifical hat, called a "gallero," with its six tassels, in three rows, on either side of the shield, all in green. These are the heraldic insignia of a prelate of the rank of bishop by instruction of The Holy See of March 31, 1969. Bishop Harrington's coat of arms was designed and painted by Deacon Paul J. Sullivan of Narragansett, Rhode Island.