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Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: Madonna University Welcome Center

City: Livonia

Window Shape: 3 (arched)

Subject/Title of Window: St. Felix of Cantalice

Brief Description of Subject: The sides and canopy provide an architectural setting for this window. Of the six portraiture windows covered, three use the same architecture as this window and three use a different one.
 
The word "felician" comes from the Latin word "felix" which means "happy." The Felician Sisters full name is "Congregation of Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice Third Order Regular (took vows) of St. Francis of Assisi." St. Felix is the Patron Saint of the Felicians.
 
St. Felix (1515 - 1587) At the age of 28, while plowing a field, an ox fell on him, and by the grace of God he survived. In thanks, he joined the Capuchins as a lay brother in Anticoli Corrado. The Capuchins are an order of Franciscan friars that believed that the Franciscan Order had drifted from the beliefs of St. Francis. Felix was given the job of gathering alms for the poor. He was so successful he was sent to the Capuchin friary in Rome where he remained the rest of his life. When receiving a donation he would thank those who contributed with the words "Deo Gratias" (thanks be to God). After a time on the streets, he became known as "Brother Deo Gratias."
 
This portrait of St. Felix is based on the 1897 engraving by Sabine Baring Gould which appeared in his book titled "Lives of the Saints." This in turn was partly based on a 1615 engraving by Raphael Sadeler. They illustrate a quote of St. Felix, "Let us go Brother, with rosary in hand, our eyes to the ground and our spirit in heaven". For this window, he is costumed as a Capuchin friar with rosary in hand and eyes to the ground and, his alms sack for feeding the poor slung over his shoulder. The alms sack is inscribed with the words "Deo Gratias."
 
At this time it is not known what the predellas of the windows from the closed church looked like. The one used here is viewed separately from the window and contains an inscription with the saints name.

Inscriptions: SAINT FELIX OF CANTALICE
DEO GRATIAS


Height: Lancet with predella: Height: 8 ft --- Lancet without predella 9 ft.

Width: Width 3 ft. Predella: Width: 29 in (is shorter as in the closed church windows the predella was designed to allow air circulation.)

The MSGC is a constantly evolving database. Not all the data that has been collected by volunteers has been sorted and entered. Not every building has been completely documented.

All images in the Index are either born-digital photographs of windows or buildings or are scans of slides, prints, or other published sources. These images have been provided by volunteers and the quality of the material varies widely.

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