The Window of St. Peter is the first large window on the right. The large center medallion references the scripture passage of Matthew 16:18 -
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
St. Peter kneels in front of Jesus to receive the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Note the keys in the hand of Jesus and the sheep which symbolize the flock. The Basilica of St. Peter at the Vatican is in the background on the hill.
Surrounding this centerpiece, four successors of Peter are found - beginning on the upper right we have Pope Gregory the Great.
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Gregory was born in 540 in Rome, Italy. He was the son of Gordianus, a wealthy senator. He later renounced the world and became one of the seven deacons of Rome. After the death of his father, he built six monasteries in Sicily and founded a seventh in his own house in Rome, which became the Benedictine Monastery of St. Andrew. Here, he assumed the monastic habit in 575 at the age of 35. He was famous for his charity work and had a hospital built next to his house to feed dinner to poor people at his expense. His Papal Ascension was on September 3, 590, the first monk to be chosen. He summed up the responsibilities of the bishop of Rome in one of the titles that survives to this day - "servant of the servants of God." His pontificate saw the development of the concept of penance and the melodies and chants so associated with him that they are now known as Gregorian Chants. Gregory is one of the four great Doctors of the Church and is known above all for his contributions to the Liturgy of the Mass and Office. He died on March 12, 604 in Rome, Italy and was declared a saint immediately after his death by popular acclamation. He is the patron of teachers.
On the lower right we have St. Pius X.
St. Pius X was
born Guiseppe Sarto, son of a village
cobbler and his wife in 1835. He was one of eight children in an impoverished
family. He studied for the priesthood at the seminary at Padua and was
ordained by Blessed Giovanni Antonio Farina on September 18, 1858. He was named the
Patriarch of Venice in 1893 and chosen as the 257th pope on August 4, 1903, taking the
name Pius X. He is known as the Pope of the Blessed Sacrament for his devotion and
encouragement of frequent (daily if possible) communion. He lowered the age of First
Communion from 14 to 7. He also reformed the liturgy, promoted clear and simple
homilies and brought Gregorian chant back to church services. He also revised the
Breviary, the teaching of catechism, and initiated the codification of canon law. Pius X promoting reading of the bible by all the
faithful. He canonized Joan of Arc in 1909. His will read: "I was born poor; I
lived poor; I wish to die poor."
On the lower left is Pope Leo XIII
Born Vincenzo
Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci,
on March 2, 1810 in Carpineto Romano, Italy. Vincenzo was the sixth of the
seven sons of Count Lodovico Pecci and his wife Anna ProsperiBuzi. He was educated at
the Jesuit school in Viterbo, and although he remained yet uncertain as to his calling, it
had been the wish of his mother that he should enter the priesthood. He was ordained
on December 31, 1837. He received his doctorate in Theology in 1836 and also held
doctorates in civil and canon law. He was named a papal assistant in 1853 and
appointed Archbishop of Perugia in 1846, and cardinal in 1853. He remained in Perugia
until 1877, when he was appointed as Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, a position he
held until his election as Pope on February 20, 1878. Leo XIII worked to
encourage understanding between the Church and the modern world. Historical scholars
are indebted to him for the opening of the Vatican Archives (1883), on which occasion he
published a splendid encyclical on the importance of historical studies, in which he
declares that the Church has nothing to fear from historical truth.The Vatican Observatory
is also one of the glories of Pope Leo XIII. For increased piety, he recommended the
Third Order of St. Francis, instituted the feast of the Holy Family, and preached the
benefits of the Rosary. His favorite devotion was to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Leo XIII was the oldest Pope at the time of his death - he was 93 years old.
He was the first Pope of whom a sound recording was made. He was also the first Pope
to be filmed on the motion picture camera - he blessed the camera afterward.
Leo was also an excellent chess player.
On the upper left is St. Hildebrand (Pope St. Gregory VII)
Born Hildebrand in 1020, in Tuscany, Pope Gregory VII was one of the great church reformers. Educated in Rome, Hildebrand was chaplain to Gregory VI. When Gregory VI died in 1047, Hildebrand entered a monastery where he remained until Leo IX called him to Rome to serve as treasurer of the church. Elected pope in 1073, Hildebrand took the name Gregory in honor of St. Gregory the Great and began to institute reforms against simony (the buying and selling of indulgences) and clerical marriage. That same year he issued the Dictatus papae which proclaimed the supremacy of the pope and avowed that the pope inherited the personal sanctity of St. Peter. Perhaps the most important reform of his pontificate was the decree of election, by which the power of choosing the pope was vested in the college of cardinals. Gregory died in Salerno in 1085 and Pope Paul V canonized him in 1606.
Directly below the center medallion of Jesus and St. Peter is the coronation of Pope Pius XII.
The last pope to be crowned was Paul VI in 1963. He decided to cease wearing a papal tiara within weeks of his coronation, and laid his own on the altar of St. Peter's Basilica in a gesture of humility. His successor, John Paul I opted not to be crowned, instead choosing to have a Papal Inauguration Mass. After John Paul I's sudden death following a 33-day reign, our beloved John Paul II also chose to have a Papal Inauguration Mass. This new tradition continued with Benedict XVI in 2005. Other symbols can be seen if you look at the window - the white wool palium and the fisherman's ring.
At the very top of the window, directly above the central medallion is Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
If you look closely you can see the scapulars in both hands of the infant Jesus. Saint Simon Stock had a special devotion to the Blessed Mother. As he knelt in prayer on July 16, 1251, she appeared before him and presented him with the well known brown scapular.
The St. Peter window has a blue background with red arches; while the borders of all the large windows are the same, there are two different alternating backgrounds in the large windows. This window was a gift of Water and Stephanie Marut.
