When attending official St. Thomas functions such as commencement ceremonies and building dedications, one often will find the speaker standing behind a podium emblazoned by the university’s official seal. Have you ever wondered when the seal was created and what the symbols on it mean?

The first College of St. Thomas seal was adopted by the Board of Trustees on June 1, 1896. The minutes from the meeting described the seal as “bearing the motto, ‘College of St. Thomas,’ encircling a Maltese cross.” By 1949, the seal was changed to include symbols superimposed on the arms of the cross. These symbols included a lamp to signify learning, two triangles to stand for the Holy Trinity and a cross to symbolize Christianity.

The college seal was revised in 1958 to include the coat of arms of the school, encircled by the words “College of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn.” The coat of arms for St. Thomas was designed by Reverend William F. J. Ryan, a member of the Académie Internationale d’Heraldrique. It incorporated several symbols including:

When the school changed its name to the University of St. Thomas in 1990, the seal was once again revised. The words encircling the coat of arms were changed to “University of St. Thomas, Minnesota” to reflect the evolution of the school’s size and scope.

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