About Bishop André
Bishop André was born Damian Legacy in 1991 in Bennington, Vermont. Growing up in a non-religious family, he felt an early call to ministry after wandering into a church alone at age 7. When asked why he was there, André simply pointed to the crucifix and said “He told me to follow Him.”
This profound experience set André on the path to priesthood. He was elevated to the Episcopate in 2016 at just 25 years old.
As a bishop, André remains committed to serving God’s people however possible. He warmly welcomes all correspondence from those seeking spiritual guidance.
Despite his youth, Bishop André brings deep devotion and care to his ministry. His story inspires vocations in the next generation of Church leaders.
Coat of Arms
An Armorial or Heraldic Achievement, more commonly known as a ‘Coat of Arms’, was initially used to mark documents and other property. Ecclesiastical heraldry evolved as a system for identifying people, rank, and dioceses/ jurisdictions. It has been most formalized within the Catholic Churches, where most bishops, but even many priests and deacons, have a personal coat of arms. These arms are usually but not always, assumed ex-officio, meaning an individual would lose their right to bear arms if they renounce their clerical office. When the shield is displayed with all its surrounding parts it is termed a complete achievement.
Ecclesiastical heraldry differs notably from other heraldry in the use of special insignia around the shield to indicate rank in a church or denomination. Archbishop Bruno Heim, a noted ecclesiastical armorist (designer of arms) stated that:
“Ecclesiastical heraldry is not determined by heraldic considerations alone, but also by doctrinal, liturgical and canonical factors. It not only produces arms denoting members of the ecclesiastical state but shows the rank of the bearer. … In the eyes of the Church it is sufficient to determine who has a right to bear an ecclesiastical coat of arms and under what conditions the different insignia are acquired or lost…. The design of prelatial arms is often a disastrous defiance of the rules of heraldry, if only as a breach of good taste.”
Heraldry in the Catholic Church: Its Origin, Customs, and Laws
Bishop André’s Coat of Arms
Apostolic Succession
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