The arms of Bishop Beltran appear on the right side of the shield, joined with those of the Diocese of Tulsa, and surrounded by the Bishop's motto and the symbols of his office.

The diocesan arms are a variation of the arms used by the Diocese of Oklahoma before the creation of a new see: a red background for Oklahoma (a Choctaw word meaning "red people"), with a silver Y-shaped cross bearing five red arrowheads which point downward. These represent the Five Civilized Tribes -- Cherokees, Creeks, Seminoles, Chickasaws, and Choctaws -- who were settled in eastern Oklahoma after 1825. The silver border with its green droplets depicts the shower that accompanies an oil strike, and recalls that the discovery of oil was a decisive factor in the growth of Tulsa's Catholic population.

The arms of the Beltran family of northern Spain feature a black eagle on a green field, together with five silver stars. In the version of these arms for Bishop Beltran's use, the eagle is shown grasping in its talons the segments of a broken chain -- revering to Isaiah 61: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me … He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners." These lines, read in the Mass of Ordinations, say much about a pastor's role in the face of many kinds of captivity, not the least of which is that of persons involved in the struggle for their rights as citizens. In this sense, the motif of the broken chain alludes to Bishop Beltran's dedication of his episcopate to the principle of social justice.

The stars in the original Beltran arms have here been replaced by a field of Cherokee roses, the state flower of Georgia, and a component of the arms of the Diocese of Savannah and the Archdiocese of Atlanta. It also refers to the Indian peoples in the Diocese of Tulsa, whose boundaries encompass the present-day Cherokee Nation.

The three silver roundels on the eagle's breast refer to the martyr bishop, Eusebius of Samosata, who met his death by stoning.

Bishop Beltran's motto states his conviction that the differences among persons are as nothing compared to their unity in the grace of Jesus Christ.

Above the shield are a processional cross and a green clerical hat with three rows of tassels on either side. These are traditional heraldic symbols for the office of bishop.