Adventures in the Archives

The St. Austin’s logo has been getting a lot of attention since the start of the pandemic. That’s because it is woven into the face masks the parish made and distributed to members. The parish image and a mission statement took shape in 2007 under the guidance of the Parish Staff and Pastoral Council. At that time, Pope John Paul II urged the Church to be more active through verbal and visual statements.

The parish mission statement introduces St. Austin’s to the world by proclaiming that this parish is “striving to manifest God’s transforming love in the world.” The next step was to create a visual introduction for the parish. Since the parish’s beginning in 1908, we have been known as St. Austin, after the great Roman missionary, St. Augustine of Canterbury. This monk and his band of missionaries brought the Gospel message to the whole of southern England in 597.

One symbol stands out from this story – the mighty oak tree. Augustine and his followers were greeted under the branches of a great oak by King Ethelbert when they landed in England. In the symbolic language of the Anglo-Saxon world, the oak tree stands as a prime expression of hospitality. The committee planning the new graphic image saw the oak tree as a fitting expression of our parish community.

The church logo on the pandemic masks include the marks of this parish: the name of our patron saint, our oak tree symbol of hospitality, and the cross of Christ. Wear your mask for good health.