The term banner - from the Low Latin, "bandum" meaning "a standard" - refers to a (perpendicularly oblong) flag whose purpose is to identify an individual or group.

Like many symbols in the church, a banner is meant to point to an entity or identity beyond itself through the use of colour and simple, but striking, images.

In Ancient Rome, banners were carried by soldiers, specifically assigned to the task, to identify a given legion, and to provide a focal point at which the troops could be called to rally as the tides of battle ebbed and flowed.

The banners themselves were often decorated with symbols that referred to the legion's commander, or patron, as in the "cat" banners of the Roman warrior and statesman Felix Maximum, whose name means "the big cat".

The use of banners as personal ensigns of identity and as the place around which to "rally the troops" continued into the Middle Ages and flourished with the advent of heraldry.

Kings, nobles, and their knights would employ banners in times of war to lead the troops into battle, but would also use banners in their courts to indicate their status and holdings.

Thus banners were meant to be a visual symbol of an overlord's identity and leadership, to convey the sense that he, or rarely she, was both provider, in times of peace, and protector in times of war.

In the church banners have a similar function.   Similar to their ancient usage, banners are used liturgically as symbols of identity.   They attempt to convey through colour and imagery the deeper reality of God in our midst.

The most common symbol adorning banners is the cross, as with our own cross and crown banner that rests in the baptistery.

And like its ancient and medieval counterparts, our banner, emblazoned with the cross, is meant to be a symbol around which the faithful rally - which speaks to the reason why we sometimes carry banners in a procession; our liturgical banners serve as the visual symbols of our overlord's identity and leadership; whether it's our banner of the Holy Trinity or the cross and crown, they are born amidst the faithful to reassure us that our Lord is in our midst and to remind us that whether we are experiencing the time of triumph or the time of trial, that it is God who is both our protector and provider.