One of the true treasures of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus are the stained glass windows.  They are the story of our faith in pictures.  Here we will begin a study of these magnificent windows.  We will start with the large windows in the body (nave) of the church and proceed in a clockwise rotation around the building.  Then we will examine other stained glass windows - the sacristy, the cross in our balcony, the doors to the original baptismal font, and the confessional.  .

So often we take for granted what is right in front of us - it becomes part of the scenery...  When is the last time you really took a look at the windows?   Fr. Felix often references them in his sermons - we all turn and look and it almost seems like we are seeing the window for the first time!   Each of our large windows has a center medallion referencing a scripture passage.  Each of these center medallions is surrounded by four smaller depictions of saints or persons bearing out that scripture passage.  There is also another smaller medallion directly above and below each large centerpiece.  Each of our windows was donated by one of our builders or founders.  

The glass contract for the windows was signed by our founding Pastor, Monsignor Alexander W. Fronczak, with Hiemer & Company Glass Studio in July of 1954.  The glass was designed by Jacob Renner a student of the Munich style school.  He served his apprenticeship in Germany and practiced throughout Europe.  The glass painter was Mr. Williams who was trained in England.  Mr. Williams was known predominately as a glass painter, but also for his portraits.  With the work of many artists under the supervision of Mr. Renner and Mr. Williams, our windows were installed for Easter of 1955.          

There is a kind of mystery to glass - it captures light and glows almost from within.  It is a jewel like substance made from the most ordinary materials:   sand transformed by fire.  Before recorded history, man learned to make glass and color it by adding metallic salts and oxides.  These minerals, when mixed within the glass capture specific portions of light from within the spectrum allowing the human eye to see various colors.  Cobalt makes shades of blue, silver creates yellows and golds while copper makes greens and browns.  Gold, the most precious metal, makes reds.  Take note in all our windows (with the exception of the resurrection window) that Christ wears a red robe - glass colored with pure gold.  Medieval artists discovered another way to add more detail to the glass.  They found that if they mixed iron filings with powdered glass, they could create a paste.  They used this paste to paint onto the glass.  When fired at a high temperature, the paste became a permanent part of the window.  They could add detail to faces, hands, and folds in cloth. 

We will begin with the first large window on the right if you are facing the altar:

Click here to see The Window of Saint Peter - Upon This Rock I Will Build My Church...

Click here to see The Window of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque - Devoted to The Sacred Heart of Jesus...

Click here to see The Window of The Sermon on the Mount  - the third window on the right

Our next study will be the fourth window on the right - Christ in Prayer

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