The coat of arms of Bishop Gettelfinger integrates the arms of the Diocese of Evansville with colors and charges personal to him. It is divided into three vertical parts. The left section is the coat of arms from the Diocese of Evansville, in blue and white. In the middle panel nine gold stars on a field of white stand for the parents, two brothers and five sisters of Bishop Gettelfinger.
Gold represents the joy and wisdom shared in growing up in a large family.
The panel to the right signifies several levels of relevance. Place and space are important to the Bishop, especially the hills and fields of southern Indiana, symbolized in green ground with blue heavens and waters of the Ohio river. It is the sun of a new day. The sower is a special symbol. He casts seed in a wide arc to the ground.