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South Bend, Ind. is an idyllic, mid-size city town of gently undulating hills, with homes and businesses nestled beneath canopies of oak, sycamore and tulip trees that shed colorful leaves in the fall and stand tall against the wind and snow during the winter. Built along the curve of the St. Joseph River and five miles from the Michigan border, the city was originally settled in the mid-1800s by Eastern European immigrants, mostly Polish and Hungarian. Through the years, South Bend’s claim to fame has been the Studebaker automobile company, the South Bend Cubs and being a next-door-neighbor to the University of Notre Dame. Now, it has another distinction: It is the town where Bishop William Albert Wack, CSC, ninth child and seventh son of Jim and Alice, was born and raised.

The episcopal shield is a spiritual and artistic creation that exemplifies the heart and mission of each bishop. Sometimes called an impaled shield, when combined with the diocesan shield representative of where a bishop serves, the episcopal shield itself, is contained within a larger context. The entire backdrop is called a coat of arms, and every bishop has one.