<P> The Vatican City State and the Holy See each have their own coat of arms . As the papacy is not hereditary, its occupants display their personal arms combined with those of their office . Some popes came from armigerous (noble) families; others adopted coats of arms during their career in the Church . The latter typically allude to their ideal of life, or to specific pontifical programmes . A well - known and widely displayed example in recent times was Pope John Paul II's arms . His selection of a large letter M (for the Virgin Mary) was intended to express the message of his strong Marian devotion . Roman Catholic dioceses are also each assigned a coat of arms, as are basilicas or papal churches, the latter usually displaying these on the building . These may be used in countries which otherwise do not use heraldic devices . In countries like Scotland with a strong statutory heraldic authority, arms will need to be officially granted and recorded . </P> <P> Flags are used to identify ships (where they are called ensigns), embassies and such, and they use the same colors and designs found in heraldry, but they are not usually considered to be heraldic . A country may have both a national flag and a national coat of arms, and the two may not look alike at all . For example, the flag of Scotland (St Andrew's Cross) has a white saltire on a blue field, but the royal arms of Scotland has a red lion within a double tressure on a gold (or) field . </P>

What is the difference between a crest and a coat of arms