Carmelites Friars – North of American Province of St. Elias in allegiance to Jesus Christ
The three parts of our shield portray the history, the spirit and the meaning of our Order, the Province’s sphere of activity and its origin.
The left hand portion represents the entire Carmelite Order. The shape of its lower half suggests the Mount of Carmel in the Holy Land where the Order began. The lower star represents the Virgin Mother, Star of the Sea. The upper stars symbolize our leaders, Elias and Eliseus, the prophets.
The upper part of the right hand portion, with its American eagle imposed upon a fiery wheel, signifies that our Province is an American Province dedicated to Elias the Prophet, who ascended to heaven in a fiery chariot.
The lower part of the right hand portion, with Brian Boru’s harp, the official emblem of the Republic of Ireland and a sunburst behind it, vividly portrays the foundation of our Province by the Province of Ireland, after the period of persecution when the sunburst became the symbol of a resurrected freedom in Irish heraldry.
