Stained Glass

The Communion of Saints is the beautiful doctrine that describes the unity of the Mystical Body of Christ and includes the saints in heaven, the souls in purgatory, and the faithful on earth.  Deeply affected by the untimely death of her sister, St. Angela was consoled by and had a deep devotion to the Communion of Saints.  She knew that even in death, she was united to her sister and to all who had gone before her - and to those who would come after her.

This St. Angela Merici window depicts our patroness, whose vocation was that of an educator, surrounded by children.  Based both on St. Angela's understanding of discipleship and evangelization and on our parish mission statement that connects the Eucharist with service to all people, St. Angela's lesson for the day (as depicted in the window) is that of Jesus washing the disciples feet (John 13).

In the Book of Revelation, Chapter 21, we read about the 12 angels that guard the 12 gates of heaven.  These angels welcome the redeemed of God into the Kingdom of Heaven and secure the goodness and eternal nature of the New Jerusalem.  The golden dome of our new church (gold representing heaven) will be necircled by 12 angels, reminding us of the eternal city of the New Jerusalem which awaits us.

When members of the parish met with the artist who would design our windows (Rich Buswell from Lynchburg Glass), the overwhelming desire was that there would be a depiction of the diverse cultures and generations that comprise our parish familiy, and that there be a sense of all being welcome.  Inspired by scripture such as "Come unto me all who are weary" (Matthew 11:28) and "When I be lifted up I will gather all people to myself" (John 12:32), the window that will greet those who enter the church will depict Jesus gathering all people.  Some of the color of this window will be filled in by those who are present in the church; some by refracted light from other windows in the church.  Like our community, it will be ever changing, ever new, with a strong presence of Christ at the center, welcoming all who come.

A Rose Window is a general term which refers to a circular window and first found in Gothic architecture.  Four beautiful rose windows were comissioned for our new church. 

A rose window with a depiction of the San Damiano cross is placed at the front of our church and not only greets those who enter, but is seen and recognized by those from beyond our property.

The other three rose windows depict the Trinity - a central doctrine of our faith - God the Father - Creator of all things; God the Son - who comes to us most profoundly in the Eucharist, and God the Holy Spirit  - whose breath inspires and animates our journey as disciples.

The image of a cardinal was placed in the bottom left corner of the St. Angela Merici transept window as special nod to our parish family and our short history as a parish. Shortly after Mass began to be celebrated in our Parish Life Center, a cardinal regularly appeared at the right windows closest to the altar. Many people believe that when a cardinal appears, it is a visitor from heaven. Our cardinals are still regular visitors at the bird feeder between the PLC and the Parish office.