Catholicism is woven into the history of Texas so completely that it is virtually impossible to separate the two. Spanish explorers, who “happened” on Texas in 1519, while looking for a short cut to the Orient, were agents of the Catholic King and Queen of Spain and were charged with the dual mission of exploring and Christianizing by spreading the Gospel. Spanish conquistadors, whose task was to plant the flag of Spain in the new land, marched side-by-side with missionaries whose charge was to plant the Catholic cross. Their Catholic culture is reflected in the names they gave to the land: Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ; rivers named for the Most Holy Trinity, the “Trinity”; and the Arms of God, the “Brazos”. Often times the missionaries were the advance guard, their missions the first outposts in the wilderness.
Crests or coats-of-arms tell about the history of a place or a family, the crest of the Diocese of Dallas is no different. Through its imagery, the crest presents a symbolic history of the Diocese of Dallas.