Arms of Raymond Poisson

Blazon

Azure on a cross Argent between in the first quarter a sun in splendour Or inscribed IHS in letters Azure, in the second a fish palewise, in the third a fern frond and in the fourth a daisy Or, a Maltese cross Azure;

Symbolism

Blue is a Marian colour. The cross is the principal symbol of Christianity. The Maltese cross recalls Bishop Poisson’s position as a chaplain in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The sun appears in the seal of the Gregorian University in Rome, where Bishop Poisson studied. The fish alludes to Bishop Poisson’s surname, Poisson being French for fish. The fern is taken from the arms of the town of Mortagne-au-Perche, birthplace of Jean Poisson (1618-1652), the first ancestor of Bishop Poisson to settle in New France, and whose municipal Arms bears three ferns. The daisy (marguerite in French) evokes St. Marguerite d’Youville and recalls that Bishop Poisson served as rector of the Basilica of Sainte-Anne de Varennes in Quebec, where the shirne of St. Marguerite d’Youville is located.