St. André Bessette Roman Catholic Parish
Malone, New York
Established July 1, 2014
Blazon
Azure, saltire sanguine, a tree eradicated of four roots argent, leaved vert, and in chief a mullet of eight points or.
“Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven; your faithfulness, to the clouds.” —Psalm 57:11.
The shield is blue, the color of the heavens, signifying the faith which characterized St. André Bessette and which unites the Church as one.
“Andrew first found his own brother Simon and told him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Christ). Then he brought him to Jesus.” —John 1:40-42
The red St. Andrew’s Cross points to the Apostle whose name Br. André took as his own when making his religious vows. Like his Gospel namesake, Br. André spent his life bringing Christ to other people and bringing other people to Christ.
“He is like a tree…that yields its fruit in season; its leaves never wither; whatever he does prospers.” —Psalm 3:1
The birch tree is taken from the Bessette family name, which comes from the French for “little birch.” Its four roots recall the four original parishes from which a new parish has grown. The tree is likewise symbolic of three of the patrons of those original parishes: St. Joseph, the wood-working carpenter; St. Helen, who discovered the relic of the True Cross, which is the Tree of Life; and St. John Bosco, whose Italian surname means “woods.”
“A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, …on her head a crown of twelve stars.” —Revelation 12:1
The golden star is for Malone, known as “The Star of the North.” It also represents the patron of the fourth original parish, Our Lady (“Notre Dame”), the Virgin Mary, whose name is traditionally thought to mean “star of the sea.”