Sentimental Church (Record) Sunday: St. Vincent de Paul, Chicago: Interior, Stained Glass III

Three weeks ago I wrote about the exterior of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Chicago, where my Massmann great-grandparents, Frederick Henry Massmann, 1875-1948, and Elizabeth Regina Dienes Massmann, 1876-1946, were married on June 5, 1900.  Two weeks ago I started writing about the interior, specifically, the stained glass windows; continuing last week.  This is the last of three posts on that topic.

The German baroque windows were obtained from Franz Mayer & Company of Munich, Germany and installed after 1900 - so they weren't there when my Massmann great-grandparents were married.

The images I'm posting today are mostly of saints, and are mostly smaller windows installed above the Stations of the Cross in the middle part of the church.  Part of the challenge was figuring out which saints were represented.

This first one is easy, thanks to the bishop's mitre (hat) and staff, the shamrock in his hand, the snakes, the Celtic cross, and all the green:  St. Patrick (click on the image to make it larger).

The chalice containing a serpent was the key to figuring out this next one - it is St. John the Apostle (also known as St. John the Evangelist).  The scroll and the bird are other symbols - the bird is supposed to be an eagle.




At first I thought this next one was Joan of Arc, because it looks like it could be a woman.  But the flaming sword, the dragon underfoot, and the words on the shield (Quis ut Deus? Latin for "Who is like God?") indicate that this is St. Michael the Archangel.

The saint pictured below, on the east side of the church, north of the transept, is the little-known St. Francis Regis Clet, who was a Vincentian (Congregation of the Mission) priest (the order that operates St. Vincent de Paul parish in Chicago):

Luckily his stained glass window had a plaque just below it identifying him:

Directly opposite, on the west side, is another Vincentian martyr, Saint John Gabriel Perboyre:

And here is the sign for that saint, canonized in 1996:

I'm not real sure who the next two are.  This female saint is on the west side, just south of St. John Gabriel Perboyre, above the first Station of the Cross and a doorway:




This next one is probably Jesus Christ, but what has me intrigued is the building he appears over.  It's not the Illinois State Capitol nor the United States Capitol.  It might be a simplified representation of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in Rome.

Next week, I'll talk about the main altar of the church.


© Amanda Pape - 2018 - click here to e-mail me.