English: Xavier University seal:

Surrounding the coat of arms is the inscription Universitas Xaveriana Cincinnatensis, the school's full Latin name, and 1831, the school's founding year, in Roman numerals.

The escutcheon is described in heraldic terms as the following:

“	4 party, dexter, on a field argent, 5 pales. 2 argent and 3 azure, sinister, on a field or, a crucifix sable held by a right cubit arm vested proper, and in base, on a field argent, 3 escalops placed 2 and 1 gules.	”
—Bennish, Continuity and Change: Xavier University, 1831-1981[1]

The University describes the coat of arms thus:

“	The five vertical stripes suggest the coat of arms of the Xavier family. A right arm wearing the Jesuit robe holds aloft the crucifix, signifying St. Francis Xavier preaching Christ crucified. The three seashells signify the three journeys of St. Xavier into Asia. Above the shield is the Jesuit seal, IHS, the first three letters of the name Jesus in Greek. Below is the Jesuit motto, AMDG [Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam], which translates ‘to the Greater Glory of God,’ and Vidit Mirabilia Magna, a phrase from the psalms applied to St. Francis Xavier which translates ‘he has seen great wonders.’	”
—Xavier University Course Catalog[2]

The seal was adopted on January 6, 1928.^[3] It was first published that year, without copyright notice, in course catalogs and other printed material. (Compare the course catalogs from 1926–27^[4] and 1927–28^[5].) The inscription surrounding the coat of arms was modified in 1930 to reflect the school's new name.