(1) There are two windows in the east transept, one commemorating
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the nativity of Our Lord with Mary and Joseph and the shepherds gathered in adoration around the manger. The marvelous star heralding the Saviour’s birth shines in the distance above.
(2) The window to the right depicts the presentation of Christ in the temple and the purification of the Blessed Virgin, Jewish rites prescribed in the Old Testament. The aged priest Simeon stands to the right holding the infant. He prophesied that Christ would be as “A light for revelation to the gentiles,” and that Mary’s heart would be pierced with a sword of sorrow. Joseph carries a pair of sacrificial doves.
(3) St. Peter, the first pope, is often referred to as the prince of the apostles. He is shown carrying keys (symbolic of authority), a reference to Christ’s words to him, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shalt be bound in heaven; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shalt be loosed in heaven.” Peter’s companion, St. Paul, experienced a miraculous event which led to his conversion to Christianity. Thereafter, he became a great missionary of the early church. His hands are shown resting on the hilt of a sword, symbolic of the fact that he was beheaded in Rome during a period of Christian persecution. The kite-shaped glass at the top contains the monogram “MR” for Maria Regina, symbolic of the queenship of Mary.
(4) The great St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican order of preachers in the 13th. century, is shown on his knees receiving the rosary from Our Lady. His great struggle was to be against heresy and the evils of the world, for which the prayer of the rosary was bestowed on him as a powerful tool. A symbol of fidelity, the dog is seen in the lower left corner. The Latin inscriptions held by the angels above allude to the greetings of the angel of the annunciation and to the words of Mary’s cousin Elizabeth at the time of their meeting, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” The kite at the top of the window has Mary’s crowned monogram surrounded by a circular crown of roses, from which the rosary derives its name.
(5) The astonished Mary, her hands clasped across her breast, is receiving from the angel Gabriel the amazing announcement that she is to have a child, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold! You will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus.” The symbolic lily of purity stands in a pot at Mary’s feet.
(6) One of the newer windows in the church commemorates the apparition of our Lady of Fatima in Portugal to three children between May and October of 1917. On her final appearance Mary revealed that she was Our Lady of the Rosary; this was also the occasion of the great miracle of the spinning sun, witnessed by an immense crowd. The inscription “Who is she that cometh forth as the morning?” is taken from the Song of Solomon, or Canticle of Canticles. Long regarded as having allegorical allusions, this particular verse is seen as referring to the Virgin Mary.
(7) “Assumpta est Maria in caelo” reads the inscription on the window depicting the bodily assumption of the Blessed Virgin. Mary’s assumption is an ancient belief of the church and was declared a matter of dogma by Pius XII in 1950.
(8) and (9) O.M. Bigelow and R. Sprats windows. Both are examples of what are probably the earliest type of coloured glass windows installed in the church. They are of coloured and frosted glass on which is superimposed decorative stenciled gothic style patterns. Two corresponding windows are located on the west side of the church (19 and 20 Kennedy and Walker windows).
(10) Another example of stained and painted glass is found in the gothic transom above the east front entrance doors of the church.
(11) The transom window above the door on the east side of the altar depicts the Sacred Heart of Jesus, surrounded by a crown of thorns and burning with the fire of divine love.
(12) The left hand window in the west transept shows the child Jesus
in religious discussion with the learned rabbis of the temple in Jerusalem. In this famous incident the Holy Family had gone there to celebrate the feast of the Passover. Unbeknownst to Mary and Joseph, who traveled separately on their return, Jesus had stayed behind. On being found three days later, he said to his mother, “Do you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” The lighted lamp in the kite above is emblematic of wisdom.
(13) The right window illustrates the Holy Family together, Joseph wearing a carpenter’s apron and leaning on an adze. The child Jesus is holding a wooden cross symbolically prefiguring his future death. The lilies in the pot at Mary’s feet are associated with the Virgin and St. Joseph as symbols of purity. The immaculate heart of Mary is featured in the kite above.
(14) This beautiful window is a companion to that of Sts. Peter and Paul directly across from it on the east wall of the church. St. Joseph is shown in the left hand panel, his staff sprouting at the top the lilies emblematic of purity. Mary is to the right wearing the traditional blue cloak.
(15) Christ’s agony in the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives is shown in this richly coloured window. Jesus prayed here after the last supper, and it was here that he was seized and led away to his eventual death. The incident shown here commemorates Christ’s prayer, “Oh Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” Sleeping in the background are the accompanying apostles who found it Sleeping impossible to remain awake to pray with him.
(16) Dedicated to the memory of Monsignor McAuley, this is another mid-twentieth century window. The right panel shows Christ crucified; at the foot of the cross Mary Magdalene kneels. The standing figures are of the Virgin and St. John, while above their heads is the sun darkened by cloud.
(17) This darkly painted window depicts the first Pentecost, the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to send assistance to the apostles after his resurrection. Here as they gather together, the Holy Spirit descends upon them in the form of tongues of fire. Through the laying on of hands, the power of the Spirit was to be passed on to others. Thus the sacrament of confirmation is shown in the lowest right hand panel.
(18) Christ, in majesty throned as king of heaven and earth, and bearing in his hands the sceptre and orb symbolic of royal power and authority, is the subject of this window. Angels to the right are posed in adoration, while people below (symbolic of the world) are gathered in attitudes of prayer.
(19) and (20) See (8) & (9).
(21) The west of the altar is shown the Immaculate Heart of Mary encircled by roses, pierced by the sword of sorrow, and surmounted by the symbolic lily of purity enclosed by flames. This is a companion piece to the east door transom (11) depicting the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
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