2 copy.jpg)
THE COAT OF ARMS OF THE
DIOCESE OF SAN JOSE
NUEVA ECIJA
On the upper crest are two lilies, a crown, a staff, a
mallet and a square, all symbols of the Royal Carpenter, St. Joseph, the Patron
of the diocese. The lilies signify his purity; the staff, his being head of the
Holy Family; the crown, his lineage from King David; and the mallet and square,
his lowly but honest source of livelihood. The blue color background stands for
the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Spouse of St. Joseph.
On the lower crest is the image of the Pantabangan Dam, cut out from the deep
green Sierra Madre giving life and color to verdant ricefields. The Pantabangan
town was submerged and became the reservoir from which flows water that
produces electricity and irrigation not so much for itself as for its
neighboring towns. Thus, the Pantabangan Dam symbolizes the life of sacrifice
and self-giving that the Diocese of San Jose is called to live so that others
may have life.