| The official Marquette University
seal, originally designed by the Rev. Francis J. Kemphues,
S.J., has been in use since the turn of the century. The
first seal was worn as a button by early Marquette students.
In 1907, the button design was altered to include the motto, “Numen
Flumenque,” “God and River.” During the
1994 – 95 academic year, the university seal was
modified to include the year of the university’s
founding, 1881. Despite the modifications, today’s
seal is much the same as the original design. |
|
The Marquette University seal consists of two parts enclosed
within a blue circular band that includes the year of the university’s
founding, 1881.
The upper half bears the motto Numen Flumenque or “God
and the [Mississippi] River” and the coat of arms of
the Loyola family in honor of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder
of the Society of Jesus. The gold and red diagonal bands honor
seven heroes from the House of Onaz, the maternal side of Ignatius’ parentage,
who distinguished themselves in battle, and the wolves symbolize
the generosity of the House of Loyola — even the wolves
found something in the kettle on which to feast.
The lower half depicts Father Jacques Marquette, the seventeenth
century Jesuit missionary and explorer after whom the university
is named, who lived among various Great Lakes tribes for nine
years, seeking to win their commitment to the Gospel, and an
American Indian, representing the numerous native people who
accompanied and guided Father Marquette on his explorations
of the western Great Lakes and the Mississippi River system.
|
