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Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Studio Name: Willet Hauser Architectural Glass

City: Detroit

Window Shape: 6 (gothic arched, more than 2 vertical sections)

Subject/Title of Window: The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles

Brief Description of Subject: The canopy of this five paneled window is decorative in nature highlighted by angels with censers.

The scene below is topped with decorative inscriptions based on Matt. 28:4 - 5 -----The Resurrection scene where the two Mary's had come to anoint the body of Jesus and an angel appeared at the tomb "And for fear of him the guards trembled like dead men, But the angels said to the women ' Do not be afraid, for I know you seek Jesus.'" The "Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles" (Pentecost) is covered in Acts 2. The "Guide to the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament" gives an excellent description of this scene (see last paragraph). Just some comments. With the designation of Pentecost as a "Glorious Mystery of the Rosary", the Virgin Mary will almost always be, as here, the center of attention either flanked or surrounded by Apostles. Above the heads of the Apostles on the end panels is seen a burning oil lamp which is a symbol for wisdom -- one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. John the Evangelist is seen on the far right panel as his main attribute is being depicted as young and beardless. Below the scene are decorative coats-of-arms as befitting a Norman styled church as well as an angel holding an object I was not able to identify.

In the lower portion of the window is depicted five saints with the artist's creation of their coat-of-arms.

St. Vincent de Paul (1581 - 1660) is known as the "Father of the Poor". When he became a priest he devoted himself to helping the sick and the poor; to that end, he founded the "Daughters of Charity" and the "Congregation of the Mission" (Vincentians). At times he would walk the streets of Paris at night looking for abandoned children; he would warm them with his cloak and carry them to his orphanage. His attributes seen here include costumed as a Vincentian and carrying an orphaned child. I could not relate the globus cruciger in the coat-of-arms to St. Vincent de Paul.

St. Timothy was an early disciple of Jesus and traveled with St. Paul who would appoint him Bishop of Ephesus. Timothy is most remembered today from St. Paul's letters to Timothy which are found in the Bible. Legend has Timothy martyred by a mob that clubbed him to death for preaching against the worshipping of the goddess Artemis. Another legend has him stoned to death in Ephesus for preaching against the goddess Diana. His attributes seen here include costumed as a bishop, holding stones, and holding a club. I could not relate the monstrance in the coat-of-arms to Timothy.

St. Matthew was a tax collector by trade until he became an Apostle. He is most remembered as one of the four Evangelists. His attributes seen here include holding a book (preaching the Word of God) and, in his coat-of-arms, a quill pen writing in the Bible.

St. Barnabas of Cyprus was one of the 72 disciples of Jesus. He introduced St. Paul to them and accompanied him on his first mission. According to legend he preached in Milan and became its first bishop. Later he went to Cyprus where he was burned alive in Salamis. His attributes seen here include dressed as a bishop with a crosier, and in the coat-of-arms what looks like a cauldron of fire.

St. Alphonsus Liguori (1697 - 1787) was a preacher and author of many books on living a Christian life. He was the founder of the "Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer" whose members are known as "Redemptorists". He became Bishop of Benevento in 1787. His attributes seen here include costumed as a bishop with a crosier, a book, and in his coat-of-arms a fish. The fish comes from the story about St. Alphonsus that he always tried to imitate what others had done to help the poor. Once he was gifted a fine fish, later in the day he read about a custom of the Archbishop of Prague to send the king a fish every year but when a new archbishop took over he discontinued that practice because he decided it was better to spend that money on the poor so St. Alphonsus had the fish he had received, sold in the marketplace and the proceeds given to the poor.

From the Guide to the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Copyright 1958, Archdiocese of Detroit.
Pentecost Sunday marks the birthday of the Church.  It was then that Christ, as He had promised, sent the Holy Spirit upon them.  Now they were prepared to preach the Gospel to all nations, confidently and courageously.  The central window portrays Mary with the Holy Spirit hovering over her in the form of a dove.  The apostles fill the other four panels.  Most easily identified are St. Matthew, St. Bartholomew, St. James the Elder, and St. James the Less.  In the lower panels are St. Vincent de Paul, St. Timothy, St. Matthew, St. Barnabas, and St. Alphonsus Ligouri.

Inscriptions: They were all filled with the Holy Ghost


Height: 25'

Width: 12'

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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