Featured Window

Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Studio Name: Friederichs and Wolfram

City: Detroit

Window Shape: 5 (gothic arched, 2 vertical sections)

Subject/Title of Window: St. Vincent de Paul with an Orphan Child

Brief Description of Subject: The roundel in the canopy of this nave window pictures a six pointed star, in Christian iconography it is the "Creator's Star" as God created the world in 6 days. Inside the the star are the initials of the Catholic Men's Benevolent Association, a cross with a heart symbolizing the "Love of God," and an anchor cross symbolizing our hope for eternal life through our faith in Christ which is based on Hebrews 6:18 - 19 "We may have the strongest comfort ... to hold fast the hope set before us. Which we have as an anchor of the soul." Also seen is a hand shake symbolizing the trust one places in a Benevolent Society.
 
St. Vincent de Paul (1581 - 1660) came from a poor family. He became a priest and devoted himself to helping the sick and the poor. To that end, he established the "Daughters of Charity and the "Congregation of the Mission" (Vincentians). For this work he is known as the "Father of the Poor." The scene shows St. Vincent de Paul giving a piece of bread to an orphan and costumed in the habit of a Vincentian --- black skull cap, black cape and cossock.
 
Above the scene is a floral and geometrical design using pastel colors.
 
In the predella is a banner designating the donor as the Catholic Men's Benevolent Association Branch 19. At the very bottom, the right glass strip has the word "Kocher." This is most likely just a scrap piece thus "Kocher," German family name meaning "stove," would have no meaning for this window.

Inscriptions: C.M.B.A. Branch 19


Height: 20'

Width: 4'

Type of Glass and Technique: Opalescent Glass, Enamel Paint

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.

If you have any questions, additions or corrections, or think you can provide better images and are willing to share them, please contact donald20@msu.edu