URSULINE COLLEGE BLACKROCK

The Ursuline Crest

 "Those who instruct many unto justice will shine like stars for all eternity"

• The Crown and Stars represent the award promised to those who fulfil the words of Daniel, and to all who live for the Glory of God alone: “Soli Deo Gloria”.
• The motto,“Those who instruct many unto justice will shine like stars for all eternity” was taken from the Book of Daniel and  was adopted by the Ursuline order from its early years.
• The Fleur de Lis, right and left of the cross, recalls the patronage by the House of Bourbon in France to the St. Jacques Monastery.
• On the left of the crest is found the letters IHS. The Christogram IHS is a monogram symbolizing Jesus Christ. From Greek it is an abbreviation of the name IHΣΟΥΣ  meaning Jesus. 
• There is a gold halo surrounding IHS similar to the  crest of the Monastery of Rue St. Jacques. 
• There are also three nails at the base of the halo and and a Cross on the top,  symbolising the Passion of Christ.
• Over the halo is a Star, which is said to have shone over the house where St. Angela’s body lay awaiting burial.
• At the base of the laurel tree are two Shamrocks, which were added with the arrival of the Ursulines in Ireland in the 18th century.
• A Cross which is the Christian symbol of victory, is found on the left of the dove, and an Arrow is found on the right hand side, a symbol of Ursula’s martyrdom.
• A Dove surmounts the laurel tree. This is a reference to an old document, which stated that a dove alighted on a tomb in the Cathedral of Cologne to indicate the burial          of St. Ursula.
• The Laurel Tree has featured in the the Ursuline Crest since 1607 as the word Laurus is an anagram of Ursula