Some of the timeless purposes of sacred art in churches has been to illustrate and bring to mind biblical stories, to illuminate church teachings, and to commemorate the lives of the holy men and women who have provided great examples of service, sacrifice, love and faith in the Lord.  The sacred art at St. Patrick’s accomplishes these three goals in four distinct areas . 

In the nave the stained-glass windows depict some of the crucial scenes in the life of Christ as presented in the four Gospels.  The story starts about halfway down the eastern wall (right wall looking from the altar) with the birth of Christ.  It then wraps past the back of the church and ends halfway down the western wall with the Lord’s resurrection.  Specifically, the six windows depict the “Nativity,” the “Wedding at Cana,” the “Sermon on the Mount,” the “Washing of the Disciples Feet,” the “Last Supper,” and the “Resurrection.” 

In the front half (closer to the altar) of the nave of the church, we see a series of stained glass windows of various saints.  On the front of the eastern (right) wall, we see portrayals of St. Peter, the apostle, and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, commonly called Mother Cabrini.  Crossing over to the western (left) wall, we see St. Patrick, our patron saint, and St. Theresa of Lisieux, also known as the “Little Flower.”  Stained glass windows celebrating the saints are not restricted to the nave.  As mentioned earlier, the western side entrance has two smaller windows depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Francis of Assisi.  And there are portrayals in stained glass of Pope John Paul II and St. Padre Pio in the vestibule entry.  Finally in the Sign-in Room there is a window of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton which can be best seen from outside the church.

In various corners of the church are four wooden statues which rise above a stand of prayer “candles” and a kneeler.  Due to modern building codes, the traditional candles have been replaced by small electric lights.  These small prayer shrines or altars provide a place for private prayer, requests for intercession and reflection.  The lighting of a candle for someone, or for a special intention, is a tradition that stretches back to the days of the Roman Catacombs.  The offerings left in the coin box are used by our Parish Outreach to help those in need.  In the middle of the nave on the eastern (right) wall is a statue of St. Anthony of Padua.  Opposite on the western (left) wall is a statue of St. Jude the Apostle.  At the far corners of the transept (short arms of the cruciform floor plan) are statues of the Blessed Mother with the infant Jesus, and of St. Joseph, her husband (the Christ child’s earthly father.)  Mary is traditionally placed to the right of Jesus on the altar cross.  Thus the right side of the church is often called the “Mary” side.  St. Joseph is on the left, or the “Joseph” side of the church.

<<<PREVIOUS   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   NEXT>>>