Cardinal Roger Mahony's coat of arms is composed of a shield, with a motto scroll and the external ornaments. The shield is the central and most important feature of the heraldic device.
By ancient tradition, the arms of an archbishop are joined with the arms of his jurisdiction as seen in the impalement on the left side of the shield.
The arms are composed of a blue shield on which are three pairs of gold angel's wings, each one guarding a golden rose. Each of the roses, which are badges of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is guarded by a pair of angel's wings to signify El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles. The colors, blue and gold, are those most usually associated with Our Lady.
The cardinal's personal arms (right side of the shield), adopted at the time of his election as Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno and used during his tenure as Bishop of Stockton, employ a green field on which are imposed a grab of wheat and a bunch of grapes placed in saltair. Those symbols, arranged in an "X" -like position, represent the Greek letter Chi, the initial of "Christ," and are used to signify the elements of the Holy Eucharist. Below, a silver basket of bread represents the virtue of Charity. Above are two gold roses which honor Our Lady of Guadalupe to whom His Eminence has great devotion. In the upper portion is a black pan-balance on a gold field which signifies the virtue of Justice, the essence of a reconciliation, the overall theme of the design.
For his motto, Cardinal Mahony uses the phrase "To reconcile God's people," a phrase signifying that the mission of bishops, priests, deacons and all of God's people is that of being in harmony with God's will.
The device is completed with the external ornaments; a gold metropolitan processional cross, which is placed in back of the shield and which extends above and below the shield, and the cardinalatial hat, or galero, with its fifteen red tassels, in five rows, on either side of the shield.