Little rock church's shield mystery explained

Intermountain Catholic

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The shield in St. Therese of the Child Jesus' little rock church is a depiction of the saint's coat of arms.

MIDVALE —The mystery is solved. The shield on the wall in St. Therese of the Child Jesus’ little rock church is, appropriately enough, modeled after the coat of arms that the Carmelite nun drew at the end of her first manuscript in 1896.

Saint Ambrose parishioner Kaye Calfo read the Intermountain Catholic article about the shield in the little rock church and that St. Therese pastor Father Martin Diaz didn’t know what it represented. Calfo chose Therese as her Confirmation name when she was 12 and "I have continued all my life to get to know her," she said. "She is a wonderful but sometimes misunderstood saint. I have many books about her, and that is how I discovered the meaning of the shield."

The St. Therese’s coat of arms includes symbolism such the Morning Star of Mary shining on a small flower, the palm of martyrdom, and a triangle representing the Trinity. Below the shield in the Midvale church is an English translation of St. Therese’s motto ‘L’amour ne se paie due pas l’amour,’ or ‘Love is repaid by love only.’ The left side of the coat of arms depicts the Child Jesus dreaming about his future Passion.

The shield in the little rock church is believed to have been painted in 1927. It does have one small mistake: rather than ‘FMT’— for Marie-Francoise Therese — the painting shows a P rather than an F.

Father Martin Diaz, pastor of St. Therese of the Child Jesus parish, said he’s considering correcting the painting so it will have the correct initials.