Taken from the ‘125th Anniversary Directory’ the Paintings and Stained Glass Windows.
Our Church was built and dedicated in honor of the Blessed Mother. Each window and painting of the Church has its own Scripture story to tell. Since the Church has been named in Mary’s honor, the windows and paintings depict the Mysteries of the Rosary and the Apparitions of Mary.
In April 1941, the beautiful rose window in the front of the Church was installed. This was a gift from the school children of St. Mary’s and it was purchased for $1,000. Father Joseph Williams, the Pastor, asked the children to imitate the children of the Diocese who saved their pennies and nickels for the Rose Window at the Cathedral of the Holy Rosary in Toledo.
In 1948 the stained glass windows on the side aisles were purchased from James Powell and Sons. The north side windows in the main part of the church depict the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary and the south side the Glorious Mysteries.
John H. de Rosen, one of the greatest religious artists of the nineteenth century, completed the painting on a triptych in the apse of the Church in 1952. Among John de Rosen’s principal works are murals done in the private chapel of Pope Pius XI at the Pontifical Summer Residence at Castelgondolfo. He was chosen by His Holiness for the work and became the first painter to decorate a Pontifical chapel since the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel were done by Michelangelo.
Mr. de Rosen was assisted by his sister, Miss Sophie de Rosen, a distinguished sculptor and decorator of religious objects. In the paintings Mr. de Rosen used children of the parish as models for some of the figures.
The theme of the paintings on the triptych is the Five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. The large center panel shows the Crucifixion of Our Lord (Mark 16:33-41) and is flanked by two panels with the four paintings showing the Agony in the Garden (Luke 22:39-46), the Scourging at the Pillar (Matt. 27:26-27), the Carrying of the Cross (Luke 23:16-31), and the Crowning with Thorns (Matt. 27:27-31).
The windows on the north side will be explained first. The last window to the rear of the church portrays the Annunciation of Mary, when Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and asked her to be the Mother of Jesus. Mary answered, ” … let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:26-38). Other scenes on this window show an Angel appearing to Moses in a fiery bush on Mount Horeb, (Ex. 3:1-7), as well as a scene from the Old Testament in which Angel Raphael appears to Tobias and guides him to the city of Rages (Tobit 4,5,6).
The next window on the north side shows the Visitation. On a visit to her cousin Elizabeth, Mary uttered her Magnificat: “My soul magnifies the Lord … ” (Luke 1:39-55). Mary went to assist her cousin Elizabeth, who was with Child, the mother of John the Baptist. (Luke 1:39-80). The other scenes are taken from the book of Revelation.
The third window shows the Nativity, the Birth of Christ and the Adoration of the Shepherds. Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem to register in the Roman census. They could not find lodging so they took shelter in a stable. There, Jesus was born (Luke 2:1-20). The Old Testament scenes are Moses in the basket being saved from the water. (Ex. 2: 1-11). The other portrays Zachary, the father of John the Baptist, offering incense at the altar. (Luke 2:22-36).
The last window on the north side shows the Presenting of Jesus by Mary and Joseph at the Temple, in obedience to the Jewish law. Notice the turtle doves that were given for an offering because of the state of poverty Mary and Joseph were in. At the Temple in Jerusalem where Jesus was presented, Simeon, an aged holy man prophesized the Passion and Mary’s part in it. (Luke 2:22-35). The windows at the bottom shows Anna and Joachim, parents of Mary, dedicating Mary to the Lord. The other picture is a prefigure from the Old Testament, Hannah presenting Samuel in the Temple. (1 Samuel 1:19-28).
The last Mystery is completed by the beautiful painting of the Finding of Jesus in the Tempie above the right side altar. (Luke 2:41-52).
On the south side the Glorious Mysteries are shown. The last window to the rear of the church depicts the Resurrection of Jesus from the tomb. (Mark 16:1-14). The Old Testament prefigures the Resurrection in two events: Samson on his way to Gaza, where he seized the doors of the city gate … and hoisted them on his shoulders and carried them … to the top of the ridge … (Judges 16:1-4). The other stain glass window gives the story of Jonah and the whale which is a prefigure of the Resurrection. (Jonah 2:1-11).
The next window shows the Second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. (Acts 1:1-12). The scene from the Old Testament prefiguring the Ascension is found in Scripture. (2 Kings 2:1-12). There Elijah is pictured in flames going to Heaven in a whirlwind.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles is depicted at the next window, which is the Third Glorious Mystery. (Acts 2:1-13) “When the day of Pentecost came it found them gathered in one place. Suddenly from up in the sky there came a noise like a strong driving wind which was heard all through the house where they were seated. Tongues of fire appeared which parted and came to rest on each of them. All were filled with the Holy Spirit.” The Old Testament scene on this window pictures Moses being given the Ten Commandments. (Ex. 20:1-17). The other Old Testament figure is Elijah offering sacrifice to God and God intervening for Elijah against Baal, the pagan god. (1 Kings 18:1-19).
The last window depicts the Fourth Glorious Mystery of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven; she was assumed by God’s power to be body and soul with her Divine Son. “And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars … ” (Revelation 12:1). The lower pictures show the Apostles going to Mary’s tomb and they found it was empty.
The Glorious Mysteries are finished by the painting above the south side altar, the Coronation of Mary, Queen of heaven and earth. In this mystery the Queenship of Mary is commemorated in her participation in Christ’s universal sovereignity in Creation and in the Church. Note the symbols of the Trinity shown in this painting: the hand symbolizing God the Father; Jesus presenting the Crown on Mary, and the Dove representing the Holy Spirit.
The large windows in the two transcepts depict the Works of Mercy.
The window on the south side shows the Corporal Works of Mercy:
The north transcept window gives the Spiritual Works of Mercy:
Everyone should be devoted to the Works of Mercy because Christ demands it in the words:
“I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me” (Mt. 25:40) and “Blest are they who show mercy; mercy shall be theirs” (Mt. 5:7).
The other small window in the south transcept shows two patrons of music: one from the Old Testament, King David and his harp, and the other is St. Cecilia. This window portrays patrons of music because this transcept was originally used as the choir section, when the church was built.
The small bright window on the left side of the sanctuary shows two scenes from the Apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes, France. In 1858 the Blessed Virgin appeared to Bernadette. Mary told Bernadette, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The Blessed Mother directed Bernadette to dig for a spring. Many miracles have taken place at this spring. The two lower windows depict Bernadette being taken to the bishop and the other one shows the waters at Lourdes where millions have been cured.
The large stainglass window in the choir loft shows six Apparitions of Mary at different places and different times. The six apparitions are Banneux, Fatima, Knock, Guadalupe, Miraculous Medal and La Salette. The apparitions will be described in the order given above.
OUR LADY OF BANNEUX. The Blessed Virgin appeared in 1933 to a poor child in a garden in Banneux, Belgium. The child’s father was an atheist, and doubted his daughter’s faith. The father went to the garden on January 18, where he was overwhelmed with the presence of a power of sanctity and he was instantly converted. Mary appeared to this poor girl many times and Mary said she was the Virgin of the Poor. These apparitions were approved by the Holy See in 1942.
OUR LADY OF FATIMA. Lucy Dos Santos 10, Francis Marta 9, and Jacinta Marto 7, were the three children of Cova de lria, Portugal, who tended sheep. It was on May 13, 1917 the children beheld a globe of light in the foliage of an oak tree as they watched their sheep. A beautiful lady dressed in white, holding a rosary in her hands was in the middle of the globe and she was more radiant than the sun. The Lady told the children not to be afraid; they were also instructed to come back to the same place to hear more from the Lady. At the final miracle October 13, 1917, 70,000 people were present to hear thunder and see lightning at the evergreen oak; the Lady identified herself as the Lady of the Rosary and she asked the people to pray the Rosary. As the people were praying the Rosary right there they saw the sun shake and tremble and rotate swiftly, and finally it seemed to plunge through the space directly over the people gathered at Fatima. After long investigation, the Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, in 1942 fully authorized devotion to Our Lady of Fatima and consecrated the entire world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
OUR LADY OF KNOCK. August 12, 1879 at Knock, County Mayo, Ireland the apparition began when men noticed a white, flickering light in their chapel. Then Our Lady appeared with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist. People witnessed the vision that lasted more than two hours. The Archbishop of the See established a commission of inquiry. Other apparitions occurred in January and Feb-ruary. Always the identical figures were there. Witnesses swore that the figures had no resemblance to a painting and that the figures of Mary, Joseph and John were distinct. The Commission had a thoroughly favorable report and the fame of Knock became celebrated as one of the great Marian shrines. By 1954 there were hundreds of cures at the Shrine, all carefully attested to by a commission of doctors. Many of them were not Catholic.
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE. Our Lady appeared to an Aztec Indian, Juan Diego, in 1527, in a poor section of Mexico. He had been converted to Catholicism by Franciscan Missionaries, and at the time of the appearance he was in a sad state because of the death of his wife. As he walked on Tepeyac Hill he was called by name by the Queen of Heaven who told him to go to the Bishop of Mexico and to him ask to have a temple built on that very spot where he stood. The poor man went reluctantly, but obediently to the Bishop; but no one believed him and they made fun of him. At the second bidding of the Queen of Heaven it was even more difficult for him to go to the bishop, but as a sign of her power and authenticity from God she cured Juan’s dying uncle of his illness, and then showed him roses blooming there on this cold December day. So Juan went back to the bishop with his mantle filled with roses as a sign from our Lady. The bishop came and fell on his knees before Juan. He was not looking at the roses but at the printed image of the Virgin that she left on Juan’s mantle, the rough woven Indian garb. The Virgin had the features and garb of an Indian woman. The miracle of Guadalupe marked the reconciliation of the Christian world with the Spanish, American and Indian world. Today the Shrine of Guadalupe is a place of pilgrimage almost within Mexico City. Pope Pius XI declared Our Lady of Guadalupe as the Patroness of the Americas, from Alaska, through Canada and the United States and Mexico. The feast is celebrated on December 12.
THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL. The Miraculous Medal was revealed by the Blessed Mother in a vision granted to St. Catherine Laboure, a sister of St. Vincent de Paul, at the Motherhouse near Paris, France, on November 27, 1830. The Virgin stood on a globe, crushing the head of a serpent with her foot. Rays of light, symbolizing graces, streamed from the outstretched hands. Written around her was: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” The reversed side revealed an “M” surmounted by a bar and a cross. Beneath were the hearts of Jesus and Mary, the one crowned with thorns, the other pierced with a sword. Twelve stars circled the globe. A voice spoke: “Have a medal struck after this model. All who wear it will receive great graces. They should wear it around their neck.” Many miracles have been confirmed and therefore the medal is called “The Miraculous Medal”. In 1896, after cannonical inquiries, the authenticity of these visions received by St. Catherine Laboure was confirmed. OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE. La Salette is in southern France and the Shrine is called the Virgin in Tears. In 1846 two little illiterate children happened to meet each other while they were herding cattle, Melanie Calvat 9 and Maximin Giraud 11. They fell asleep on the hillside. Waking up they saw a beautiful Lady sitting on a rock in the bed of a dried up stream. The Lady was weeping, but she told them separately what she called a secret. In 1851 the children told Pope Pius IX what the Lady had said. To others they said merely that there was need for humility, prayer, and penance and that there would be dire punishments if the people did not repent. The Holy See proceeded with investigation and declared no further details to be made. Devotion to Our Lady of Salette was approved by the Bishop of Grenoble in 1851 and by the Popes since Pius X. A miraculous spring began to flow at the spot; many people were healed by the miraculous water.