St. Dominic's Coat of Arms is composed of a shield, with various symbols.

The basic background is a shield, as is traditional in heraldry. It is divided into three parts. In the upper left part of the shield is a ship. The ship represents the priests who periodically traveled by boat from St. Michael’s Parish in Pensacola to Panama City in order to celebrate Mass.

The upper right of the shield holds the symbols for St. Dominic. St. Dominic is usually represented with a patriarchal staff held in his right hand, from which hangs a banner with the seal of the Dominican Order and a rosary.  At his feet is a dog with a burning torch in its mouth.  Added frequently are a white lily held in his left hand and a star shining his forehead.  All these symbols refer to aspects or events in the life of St. Dominic.  Therefore, we placed several of these symbols in this section.  The dog is carrying the patriarchal staff with the red banner.  The banner holds the seal of the Dominican Order with a star above it and two lilies below it.  The following explanation is presented here in the hope that it will sufficiently explain all the symbols used.

The Dog

The Legend (first biography of St Dominic) narrates a vision that his mother, Blessed Joan de Aza, had before he was born.  When she was pregnant with him, she had a dream, in which she saw a puppy coming out of her womb with a burning torch in its mouth.  Unable to make sense of her dream she decided to seek the intercession of Santo Domingo de Silos, the founder of the famous Benedictine monastery nearby.  She made a pilgrimage to Silos to ask the saint to unfold her dream for her.  There she was made to understand that, through preaching, her son would set the world on fire for Christ.  In recognition, she named her son Domingo.  A most appropriate name indeed, for Domingo is in Latin Dominicus, which means "Of the Lord", hence Dominica (= the Lord's Day or Sunday, Domingo in Spanish). From Dominicus (Dominic) comes Domicanus (Dominican, that is pertaining to the Order of St Dominic).  However, here the often repeated but ungrammatical played on words by saying that Dominicanus is a combination of Dominus (Lord) and canis (dog), therefore coming to signify "the Lord’s dog," or watchman over the Lord’s vineyard. Canis, of course, is not and never was canus except to illiterate ears.  Canus refers to "grey" or ‘‘aged’’ things such as hair!

The Star

We are told in the same Legend that at Dominic’s baptism a star appeared over his forehead.  Again, by his life and preaching, Dominic became a beacon light, guiding souls to Christ.  From his student days in Palencia, Spain, where he sold his precious books to raise funds to help the poor who suffered from a prolonged drought, and offered himself to be sold into slavery to redeem Christian captives of the Moors, to a certain night on a journey to Denmark which he spent in conversation with his heretical innkeeper, finally bringing him back to the fold of the true faith, to Languedoc, where he devoted the best years of his life to disputing with Cathars, to teaching and preaching, to the founding of his Order, St Dominic was a bright star which attracted lost souls to Christ.

The White Lily

St. Dominic’s love of purity was so perfect that on his deathbed, while making a public confession to his brethren, he was able to say: "Thanks be to God, whose mercy has preserved me in perfect virginity until this day; if you wish to keep chastity, guard yourselves from all dangerous conversations, and watch over your hearts." Then he said to friar Ventura, the prior of Bologna?  "Father, I fear I have sinned in speaking of this grace before the brethren."   The purity of his soul and the desire that his sons should imitate him impelled him to make such revelation.

The Cross and the Guidon

The Cross with two cross bars (called "patriarchal") carried in procession before Patriarchs and Metropolitans is also a symbol used for founders of great religious families or important Christian communities seen as patriarchal.  It is connected with St Dominic because he was the first to bring the monk out of the monastery into the city, turning him into an apostle: a friar, without ceasing to be a monk.  A number of other Orders were founded almost simultaneously with the Dominican principally the Franciscans.  All these groups followed the same pattern. It was only much later, in the sixteenth century, when Orders and Congregations appeared who engaged in apostolic work, but without monastic observances.

The Guidon with the Dominican seal is St Dominic’s "coat of arms."  Black and white: symbolizing purity and penance, death and resurrection, combine the Dominican ideals of mortification and joy, renunciation of the world and possession of Christ.

Finally, the lower left part of the shield contains a drawing of St. Dominic Church as it stands today.

The shield as well as each segment is outlined with a rope, which represents the coastal town where St. Dominic Church resides.