The arms are quarterly: in the first quarter, Argent a cross Gules; in the second, per bend sinister Vert and Purpure, two candles in saltire Or enflamed Proper; in the third, per bend sinister Argent and Or, two keys in saltire Or; and in the fourth, Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or. The shield is ensigned with a carpenter’s square Proper, surmounted by a fleur-de-lis Proper, and beneath the shield are two branches of laurel Proper arranged in orle, with a scroll below bearing the motto Opera Perficiamus Quae Precipis.

​

Each of the quarters represents one of the four house patron saints.  The cross in the upper left quarter represents St. George, an soldier in the Roman army and martyr for the Faith.  The upper right quarter represents St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, whose feast day permits a special blessing with crossed candles placed over throats.  Because his feast is the earliest possible day for Shrove Tuesday to fall, his quarter showcases a slight variation of the traditional three Mardi Gras colors (i.e., violet, olive green, and gold).  The lower right quarter bears the Petrine keys and the Vatican's colors to represent Pope St. Leo the Great, who protected Rome from the invading barbarians and (more importantly) Christological doctrines from the heretics who denied the two natures of Our Lord.  The final quarter contains the arms of King St. Louis IX of France, a monarch who tirelessly worked to safeguard justice in his kingdom and the rights of Christians in the Holy Land.

​

Above the shield, we have two different symbols for St. Joseph, the most chaste spouse of Our Lady and below the shield we have laurel wreaths (the traditional symbol of triumph in the Greco-Roman world) and a scroll bearing the Academy's Latin motto which comes from the Collect of the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.  Translated into English, it implores Almighty God to "let us accomplish the works which Thou dost command".

​