Italy - Draft of Salesian Coat of Arms
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Turin, Italy, 8 December 1885 - The draft of the Salesian Coat of Arms appeared for the first time in the circular of Don Bosco on 8 December 1885. It was elaborated by Professor Boidi. The radiant star, the large anchor, the inflamed heart symbolize the theological virtues; the figure of St. Francis de Sales recalls the Patron Saint of the Society; the forest, in the lower part, the founder; the high mountains mean the peaks of perfection to which the members must tend; the palm and the laurel which, intertwined in the stem, embrace the shield up to the middle, are emblems of the prize reserved for a sacrificed and virtuous life. The legend "Da mihi animas ..." expresses the ideal of every Salesian.