Catholic Symbols, Saints & Latin Mottos, Explained

Our Catholic designs carry symbols, Latin mottos and saints with real histories. These are our explainers on them, gathered in one place: what each one means, where it comes from, and why men still wear it.

Latin mottos and symbols

• The Chi-Rho: meaning and origin
  The Chi-Rho symbol joins Chi and Rho, the first two Greek letters of CHRISTOS. Its meaning, Constantine's labarum, and what the ancient sources say.
• What does Christus Rex mean?
  Christus Rex: Christ the King. What the Latin title means, where it comes from (Quas Primas, 1925), and why the Feast of Christ the King still matters.
• What does Militia Christi mean?
  Militia Christi is Latin for "the army of Christ", the early Church's name for the baptized: its meaning, Scripture and history, explained.
• What does Memento Mori mean?
  The Latin phrase, its Catholic history from the monasteries to the saints, and why men still wear the reminder today.
• AMDG: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
  AMDG means Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, for the greater glory of God. The Jesuit motto, St. Ignatius, the IHS monogram, and why men wear the letters.
• What is the Church Militant?
  The three states of the Church (militant, suffering, triumphant), what the Catechism teaches, and what the term does not mean.

St. Michael the Archangel

• Who is St. Michael? The meaning of "Quis ut Deus"
  "Quis ut Deus" means "Who is like God?": the literal meaning of the name Michael and the war cry of the archangel who cast down Satan.
• The St. Michael Prayer: full text and meaning
  The full St. Michael Prayer in English and Latin, what every line means, the real Leo XIII history (fact vs. legend), and how men pray it today.
• Michaelmas, September 29
  The September 29 Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael: the name, the four offices of St. Michael, and why Catholic men wear him.

Prayers and Scripture

• The Anima Christi prayer
  The Anima Christi prayer in English and Latin, its fourteenth-century origin, the 1330 indulgence, and why St. Ignatius did not write it.
• The Armor of God, piece by piece
  Belt of truth, breastplate, shield of faith, helmet, sword of the Spirit, and the Catholic tradition of spiritual combat behind them.
• Faith over fear: 2 Timothy 1:7
  What 2 Timothy 1:7 actually says, the Greek behind the spirit of fear, Aquinas on fortitude, and why men wear the phrase.

Our Lady and America

• Why is the Immaculate Conception the patroness of America?
  The U.S. bishops chose Mary under that title in 1846, eight years before it was even defined as dogma.
• The North American Martyrs
  Who were the North American Martyrs? The eight Jesuit saints killed 1642-1649 at Auriesville, NY and in Huronia, canonized in 1930, feast October 19.

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