‘Auspice Maria’ Seal

A brass inlay in the terrazzo finish floor of the forward sanctuary is a Marian symbol familiar to most Catholics consisting of two intertwined letters ‘A’ (Ave) and ‘M’ (Maria) surmounted by a crown and surrounded by a circle of twelve stars. The Book of Revelation describes a woman “clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars” (12:1, 2 & 5). In Catholic tradition that woman is the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially in connection with the Immaculate Conception. The symbol is called the Auspice Maria and is Latin for "Under the protection of Mary." Placed at the threshold to the sanctuary the revered monogram serves to remind us too that, as St. Louis de Montfort explained, it is through Mary that we come to her son, Jesus.