Two Churches
Joining as
ONE Family
Together in Love
OUR STAINED GLASS WINDOWS
Historically, Stained Glass Windows with their sparkling light and radiant colors have been used by the Catholic Church as a teaching tool while at the same time providing spiritual inspiration to all who view them!
As our windows are over 119 years old, they are in desperate need of repairs. As you peruse the images of some of our beautiful windows, please consider making a donation to our Stained Glass Window restoration fund!! Details at the bottoms of this page.
As the patron saint of our church is St. Thomas Aquinas, most of our windows have either an Eucharistic or a Dominican theme.
Click through on any of the images to view the larger picture!
CHURCH NAVE: (right & left views are as you enter from 9th Street and face the sanctuary)
Our patron, SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS was a Dominican priest, theologian and philosopher. As it is believed the Rosary was a gift from the Blessed Mother to St. Dominic, a number of our windows commemorate the Rosary.
The theme of the Rosary that is so predominate in the Sanctuary is continued in our church's two largest windows, which are the closest to the Sanctuary.
The large
window located on the left of the church shows the Five Joyful Mysteries
~ the Annunciation & the Visitation on the left of the picture,
the Nativity in the center and the Presentation & the Finding in
the Temple on the right of the picture.
The large window located on
the right of the church portrays the Five Sorrowful Mysteries ~ the
Agony in the Garden & the Scourging on the left of the picture,
the Crucifixion in the center and the Crowning with Thorns & the
Carrying of the Cross to the right of the picture.
As we move away from the Sanctuary, we find two beautiful windows honoring our patron.
These
images are from the left window and the scene portrays Saint
Thomas (Dominican white habit) and Saint Bonaventure (a Cardinal in
the brown Franciscan robes) preparing for the Council of Lyon. Saint
Thomas has the Holy Spirit (dove) inspiring him with wisdom, while Bonaventure
is burning the erroneous works that do not accept the Real Presence
of Jesus in the Eucharist (Transubstantiation). The floret in top of
the of the window contains Angels worshipping the Tabernacle and the
Host. One Angel is holding a candle and the other is incensing the Eucharist.
Directly
opposite, the right window also has a Eucharistic theme. To the left,
Thomas is writing and praying accompanied by another Dominican friar.
A bookcase of his writings is directly behind Thomas' head. The crucified
Jesus is telling Thomas that "You has written well of me....".
The right section of the window portrays Thomas celebrating Mass with
the Holy Father in the background. As the Altar Server rings the bell
during the Consecration - the wine actually changes into blood and overflows
the chalice. In the floret on the top of the window Jesus is consecrating
the Host & wine at the altar.
The remaining Stained Glass windows contain nonrepresentational designs, topped by florets which provide teaching information.
The Immaculate
Heart of Mary.
The
Victorious Lamb of God.
There are a number of other florets that will be added to this page.
As you leave our church, you can not miss our immense Rose window located over our choir loft. The beauty of it's design is breath taking!
Click through on any of the links below to view our beautiful windows in other areas of our church:
