Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob
The Most Rev. Jeffrey S. Grob's biography
The Most Rev. Jeffrey Scott Grob was named Archbishop of Milwaukee by Pope Francis on November 4, 2024. He was installed January 14, 2025.
Born March 19, 1961, in Madison, Wisconsin, Archbishop Grob was the only child born to Bonnie (Meinholz) Grob and the late Gerald Grob. He grew up on a dairy farm in nearby Cross Plains.
From 1975 to 1979, Archbishop Grob attended Holy Name High School Seminary in Madison.
He received a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio in 1988, and went on to complete his priestly formation at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein Seminary in 1992.
Archbishop Grob was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin on May 23, 1992 and has served in many roles in his 32 years there in addition to pursuing advanced studies.
Archbishop Grob served as resident and then Associate Pastor of Saints Faith, Hope and Charity Parish in Winnetka, Illinois from 1992 to 1998 while pursuing graduate studies at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein Seminary. He completed them in 1999 with a licentiate in sacred theology.
In 1994, Archbishop Grob also began many years of service to the entire Archdiocese of Chicago in the following roles: Assistant to the Chancellor, 1994-1998; Assistant to the Archdiocesan Exorcist, 2003-2006; Associate Vicar for Canonical Services, 2003-2008; and Dean of Deanery IV-D, 2008-2009.
During this time, Archbishop Grob also continued studies. He earned a licentiate in canon law in 2000 as well as a doctorate of canon law in 2007, both from St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada. Archbishop Grob also received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Ottawa in 2007.
He also served as a Judge with the Court of Appeals of the Province of Chicago from 2003 to 2013, and then as Judicial Vicar for the archdiocese from 2013 to 2015 and 2017 to 2020.
In addition, Archbishop Grob served as pastor of St. Celestine Church in Elmwood Park, Illinois from 2008 to 2013.
Since 2015, Archbishop Grob has served as Chancellor for the Archdiocese of Chicago, as well as the Archbishop’s Liaison to Lay Ecclesial Movements and New Communities.
Since 2010, he also has served as the Archbishop’s Delegate to the Review Board. Pope Francis appointed then-Father Grob as an Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago on September 11, 2020. He was ordained to the episcopacy by Cardinal Blase Cupich on November 13, 2020.
The new Bishop Grob chose for his Episcopal motto the phrase “Jesus the Vine” from the Gospel of John (John 15:5) “I am the vine, you are the branches.”
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Archbishop Grob's Coat of Arms
BLAZON: Arms impaled. In the dexter: Gyronny of eight Gules and Argent, at the counterpoint a hurt charged with an eagle displayed abaissé Argent. In the sinister: Azure in base an antique plow Or; in chief between two fleur-de-lis a crescent all Argent. The shield is ensigned with an archiepiscopal cross Or and an archbishop’s galero with cords and twenty tassels flanking the shield disposed in four rows of one, two, three and four all Vert. On a scroll below the shield is the motto, “Jesus The Vine”.
EXPLANATION: The armorial bearings of Archbishop Grob impale the coat of arms of his archiepiscopal See with his personal coat of arms. The coat of arms is composed of a shield with its charges (symbols), a motto and the external ornamentation. The shield is described (blazoned) in terms that are archaic to our modern language, and this description is presented as if given by the bearer with the shield being worn on the arm. Thus, where it applies, the terms dexter (right) and sinister (left) are reversed as the device is viewed from the front.
It is customary in heraldry that the arms of a Diocesan Bishop, or Ordinary, are joined side by side on the same shield with the arms of his See. In this case, these are the arms of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Such marshaling is called impalement and employs the same method used when joining the coats of arms of two people who are married. In this way, the coat of arms, like the episcopal ring, is symbolic of the archbishop being “married” to his archdiocese.
The arms of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee are composed of a field composed of eight sections in alternating colors of red and silver (white). The colors are taken from the flag of Switzerland, the birthplace of Milwaukee’s first Archbishop, the Most Rev. John Martin Henni. The four red sections meet at the center in a symbolic reference to the meeting of waters, the Milwaukee and Menomonee Rivers and Lake Michigan in Milwaukee. Over the center point is a blue roundel called a “hurt” in heraldry. This, in turn, is charged with a silver (white) eagle with its wings spread out. This is a symbol of St. John, the titular patron of the cathedral church.
The personal coat of arms of Archbishop Grob symbolize his origins, his personal devotion and the place in which he has spent his ministry as a priest and auxiliary bishop. The field is blue and the main charge is a large gold (yellow) antique plow. This not only alludes to the ministry of spreading the Gospel as symbolized by plowing a field to prepare for seed to be sown but is an allusion to the bishop’s early life growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm.
Above the plow are a silver (white) crescent, a symbol of Our Lady under her title of the Immaculate Conception, who is the patroness of the United States. The two silver (white) fleur-de-lis represent several things. First, they are a symbol of St. Joseph, to whom the bishop has a special devotion as a kind of patron saint because he was born on the Solemnity of St. Joseph (March 19). The fleur-de-lis is a stylized version of the lily and St. Joseph is often depicted holding a staff from which lilies are blossoming. Second, they allude to St. John XXIII who used them in his own coat of arms. The bishop has a devotion to this great 20th century saint. Finally, there are two fleur-de-lis in the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Chicago where the bishop had served as a priest and bishop.
The external ornaments include a gold archiepiscopal cross with two horizontal bars (sometimes referred to as a patriarchal cross) placed vertically behind the shield decorated with red jewels. This is often mistaken for a processional cross like the one used in liturgical processions. However, like other heraldic ornaments the archiepiscopal cross has its origins in something which is no longer actually used. At one time all bishops had, in addition to the processional cross at the head of the procession, another cross carried directly in front of them by a cleric. This other cross was a sign of the office of bishop. It originated as a custom that such a cross was carried before archbishops only. Later, the cross was adopted for use by all bishops so archbishop’s added a second horizontal bar to their crosses to distinguish them from the episcopal cross of simple bishops. While no longer actually used, it has remained a symbol of the archiepiscopal office in heraldry.
Similarly, the broad-brimmed green galero was, at one time, worn by bishops in outdoor processions and cavalcades. No longer used, it remains a heraldic symbol of the office of bishop and takes the place of the helmet, mantling and crest that would appear in the coat of arms of a layman. In Catholic heraldry, the color and number of tassels on the galero indicates the rank of the bearer. The double barred archiepiscopal cross and the green galero with twenty tassels signifies the coat of arms of an archbishop according to the Instruction of the Holy See, “Ut Sive” issued in 1969.
The motto chosen by Archbishop Grob appears on a scroll below the shield, “Jesus The Vine”.
The coat of arms of Archbishop Grob was originally designed and emblazoned in 2020 by the Rev. Guy Selvester, a priest of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey. He has now marshaled the Archbishop’s personal arms to those of the See of Milwaukee. Fr. Selvester is a Fellow of the American College of Heraldry and also of the American Heraldry Society.