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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church

Studio Name: Loire (Gabriel) Studios

City: Farmington

Window Shape: 2 (rectangle)

Date of Window: 1960

Subject/Title of Window: The Prophecy of Simeon

Brief Description of Subject: The prophecy of Simeon that Mary would suffer greatly for her son, is the first of seven windows on the Epistle side of the Church. Each features one of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.
 
The devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary dates to the 13th Century with the seven men that founded the Servite Order. Although Mary suffered more than seven sorrows, the seven they chose became fairly standard.
 
By Jewish law, a first born male must be redeemed from God, as God claims that child as payment for the Passover. This ceremony, the Presentation, takes place 40 days after birth. When the First Family came to the Temple at the stipulated time to pay the ransom, a man named Simeon was there. He had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the promised Messiah. When he saw the Christ Child, he proclaimed him the Messiah "Then SIMEON BLESSED THEM and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and A SWORD WILL PIERCE through your own soul also) that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." (Luke 2:34 - 35 RSVCE)
 
The artist has depicted this scene with Simeon blessing Mary and the Christ Child. Above them, a heart pierced with a sword, symbolizing the sorrows that Mary will endure for her son. At the bottom right of the window, the maker has inscribed the studio's name, year, and city --- "Loire Chartres 1960."

Condition of Window: Good

Height: 19' 4"

Width: 4' 4"

Type of Glass and Technique: Slab or Faceted Glass (Dalle de Verre)

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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