Stained Glass Windows
The Beautiful Stained Glass Windows at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes are great works of art that complement perfectly the architecture and function of the church.
The windows were designed, created and imported for the specific space they occupy. The windows depict events in the lives of Jesus, Our Lady, and the saints; some contain Latin inscriptions and others reference to biblical text. These works show a strong influence from the art of the past, especially the paintings of Raphael (Italian, 1483-1520) and Bartholome Esteban Murillo (Spanish, 1618-1682).
Father Timothy Danahy hired the prominent Boston architect Edward T.P. Graham and ordered imported stained glass windows from F.X. Zettler Studios in Munich, Germany. (In acknowledgement of the wonderful beauty, brilliant coloring and design shown in the work of the house of F.X. Zettler, his firm was awarded the title Royal Bavarian Art Institute for Pictorial Painting on Glass from King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1873, a distinction not easily obtained in Europe.) The windows were custom designed for Mary Immaculate Church. Reportedly, some of the windows were made up from sketches that the pastor himself had sent to Zettler. The windows exemplify the Munich Style of design, showing an architectural frame and presenting a dramatic event. These windows need to be preserved so they can continue to illuminate and transform the interior space of our church.
The detailed research on the windows was done by Theresa A. Murphy and Theresa M. Murphy based on leads developed by the Stained Glass Windows Committee of the 130th Anniversary Celebration. The committee consisted of the Murphys, Alderman Brian Yates and Mrs. Mary Osborne. The sources for the information included the Connick Stained Glass Window Association, who identified the Saint Elizabeth window; life-long parishioner Margaret Murphy who remembered many of the mysterious window identities from her childhood when the church was new. She identified Saint Agnes of Rome, Saint Brigid of Ireland, and the Marriage of the Virgin by Raphael, and that other windows were based on his work and other classic painters.
Professor Virginia Raguin of the Holy Cross Art History Department was extraordinarily generous with her time and expertise. When Alderman Yates had tracked her down as the head of the Census of Stained Glass Windows in America, she responded to pictures of the windows with a detailed scholarly treatise on all of them. Subsequently she met with the committee for several hours and provided both detailed knowledge and infectious enthusiasm.
Please note that The Flight into Egypt windows were not made by the Zettler Studios.
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