The Gilbertine Academy
Badges worn on clothing became popular (especially in England) in the late Middle Ages as a way of showing an association between individuals. Today this tradition has survived perhaps most notably as a badge on school uniforms. While some schools use a Coat of Arms for this purpose, The Gilbertine Academy follows the more traditional para-heraldic practice.
Our badge brings together three visual elements: the Canterbury Cross, the heraldic arms granted the Gilbertine Priory at Sempringham, and the circle which presents the design and motto in a visually harmonious way. The red and blue school colours subtly remind us of the blood and water which flowed from the Lord’s side at His crucifixion, while the gold and silver in the design remind us of the costliness of our Catholic faith.
Perhaps the most prominent component of the badge is the Canterbury Cross set upon a blue field. Discovered in 1867 during excavations in Canterbury, England, the original Anglo-Saxon broach dates from AD 850. This particular cross reminds us of our obligation to celebrate, protect, and hand-on the patrimonial gifts of the Ordinariates as a treasure to be shared. Of course, every Cross ultimately symbolizes the Christian Faith and reminds us of Christ crucified.
The historical arms granted the Gilbertine Priory at Sempringham sits upon the cross and further informs the design. The blazon reads: Barry of six, argent and gules; over all in bend sinister, a pilgrim’s crutch or. The pilgrim’s crutch is sometimes rendered as a long cross and this is the case here as we are a Catholic School and the cross is our hope and deliverance. St. Gilbert was a medieval Priest and teacher who believed both boys and girls should be educated. He, in 1131, founded the only medieval Religious Order indigenous to the English people when seven of his female students asked him for a Rule, habit, and a cloister. The communities would grow to include Nuns, Sisters, Brothers and Priests and flourished until the dissolution of the monasteries in England in the mid 1500s.
The cross and shield are presented upon a circle — a universal symbol with meanings that include unity, wholeness and eternity. We strive for a kind and generous unity of the student body at the Gilbertine Academy towards an integrated education that we hope will lead to eternal life in the presence of God the Holy and Undivided Trinity.
Our motto, rendered in Latin, is that of the Gilbertines “Factum Est” — a message from St. Gilbert himself, made during a vision of him after his death, which means “it is accomplished”. The words also remind us of the Gospel of John, the first chapter, the fourteenth verse: “Et verbum caro factum est” — “And the Word became Flesh”.
The Gilbertine Academy: Holy House
The badge used by our younger students (Holy House of Our Lady & St. John) brings together four visual elements: the Marian cypher which represents Mary the Mother of our Lord, St. John’s chalice for the patron of our parish in Inglewood, the Alpha and Omega representing Christ but also alluding to our classical educational tradition, and finally the arms of St. George, recalling the Anglican patrimony as a treasure to be shared.
The Marian cypher or monogram is located in the top quarter and is composed of the letters ‘M’ and ‘R’ which means “Maria Regina (Queen)”. This design can be traced back to the eleventh century. The three points on each of the ends of the monogram remind us of the Holy Trinity.
Below is the chalice with the snake emerging from it — a symbol of St. John (the patron of our parish of St. John the Evangelist and Jesus’ beloved disciple). It too is an ancient symbol and can be traced back to the thirteenth century. Christians have been persecuted right from the start, but this symbol shows us that we have nothing to fear. It comes from an old legend that tells us about someone who tried to poison St. John. The Evangelist was preserved by a miracle: the poison came out of the chalice in the form of a snake and St. John drank the cup unharmed.
The left and right quarters have within them the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These are appropriate for any Christian school because it reminds us most of all of the Lord Jesus’ words in Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Finally, at the centre, we have a shield with the cross upon it. By this symbol we are reminded that our only protection is Jesus Christ Himself. The style of the shield recalls St. George, who was martyred during the Diocletian persecution of AD 303. He refused to recant his Christian faith and his earthly life was taken from him, though of course not his eternal life. St. George’s cross and shield have become associated with the English Church and the Anglican patrimony which we preserve and celebrate at St. John’s.
There are three other crosses found on the badge that remind us both of the Holy Trinity and of Calvary, where Jesus was crucified with the two thieves. We are reminded that Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Each of us, like the two thieves, has a choice to make: do we reject Christ, or do we choose Him as the good thief did? “Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). This is our ultimate hope for all of our students and is really the goal for the education they receive at Holy House: that they would choose to follow Jesus and live with Him forever in joy and felicity.
““In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art. Art must make perceptible, and as far as possible attractive, the world of the spirit, of the invisible, of God. It must therefore translate into meaningful terms that which is in itself ineffable....””