Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church

City: Detroit

Window Shape: 3 (arched)

Subject/Title of Window: Clerestory Window St. Anne and St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Brief Description of Subject: There are six such four lancet windows in the clerestory of the nave, each featuring saints in the center lancets and bookended by lancets designed to let light into the Church.
 
Pictured in the left lancet's medallion is a bunch of grapes --- as wine is made from grapes, it is a symbol for the blood of Christ. This comes from Christ's words at the Last Supper Matthew 26: 27 - 28, "Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it all of you. This is my blood of the covenant.'" This lancet was donated by Marianna Klebba.
 
Pictured in the center left lancet is St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. In Christian art, the scene shown here is titled, "ST. ANNE TEACHES THE VIRGIN MARY TO READ." This subject originates from Medieval theological logic --- Jesus could read so he must have been taught by his mother Mary, and so she must have been taught to read by her mother St. Anne. This subject became popular in the 14th and 15th centuries, and remains so to this day. St. Anne would most likely be the patron saint of the donor of this lancet, Anna Perkowski.
 
Pictured in the right center lancet is St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207 - 1231). She was born a PRINCESS as the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary. In 1221 she married Ludwig IV the Landgrave of Thuringia. She had a deep devotion to God. After her husband's death in 1227 she eventually settled in Marburg and built a hospital in honor of St. Francis. Shortly after her death, she was canonized a saint, and the Order of Teutonic Knights built a CHURCH IN MARBURG to honor her. Her burial site at the Church soon became a popular pilgrimage destination. For this window she is costumed in the royal garb of a princess and his holding an image of the St. Elizabeth Church in Marburg. This lancet was donated by Michael and Aniela Lorkowski.
 
Featured in the right lancet's medallion are the Latin letters INRI inscribed on a cross. These are the first letters of the Latin words Pilate had "fastened to the cross 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews'," (John 19:19). This lancet was donated by Joseph Piechowiak.

Inscriptions: Maryanna Klebba
Anna Perkowski
Michal I Aniela Lorkowski
Jozef Piechowiak


Height: 6'

Width: 20'

Type of Glass and Technique: Opalescent Glass

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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