Radiant: St. Andrews Catholic
What’s old is new again at the 104-year-old building.
Metal clanged as workers raised scaffolding at the 104-year-old St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, where restoration of 15 stained-glass windows is nearing completion.
With a rag drenched in distilled water, crew worker Aaron Orth cleaned the face of St. Patrick in one of the large, ornate windows. He uses a pH-neutral solution to ensure that no damage is done to the lead casings around the glass.
"This will last for a long time," said Chris Dieter, field crew supervisor. "Before, you couldn’t see the windows because of the old protective coverings."
Gone are the drab Plexiglas-type coverings that had obscured the light. New clear coverings allow illumination of the windows’ brilliant reds, blues and golds, which shift and change with the play of sunlight and passing clouds.
5 comments
Where is this?
It’s in Roanoke, VA.
BTW, one of the best things they can do next is to get the old altar & ambo back (likely, I’m sure), as well as the old side altars, which were ripped out. Then they can get that grand piano our of the sanctuary, stop putting chairs where the side altar used to be, and stop seating all the readers and cantors there. (When we went to a Mass there with the Catholic School, the girls were sitting up there, off to the side of the altar, with their legs apart and slouching. Girls? I can see your underwear, and it’s not like I’m really trying.)
*sigh*
At least Jesus is back in the beautiful tabernacle there instead of an unmarked, closet-sized room that is completely removed from the church (and in the hallway leading to the chapel and the social hall).
On the other hand, the church is INDEED one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. It’s on the list of historical landmarks, and so it’s protected from most wreckovations. The girls and I often go there during Lent to pray the Stations of the Cross because they are so beautiful. And those windows are just stunning. I will have to go over to see them again now that they’ve gotten rid of the plexiglass. (I haven’t been over in a while, though I’ve driven past it at least once a week!) My girls will be excited to see it!
And one final note to Jeff in particular. I turned on the Parental Control on my computer (the girls have their own log-ons), and when I clicked to come over, this site was blocked due to “Sex Education/Advanced” material. I asked Norton to perhaps recategorize you as “Religious” in nature (because there is no Religious/Humor category). Just thought I’d let you know. You could be corrupting minors and all. 😉
It’s beautiful. And to think of all the wonderful stained glass that’s eneed up on eBay after being ripped out of old churches.
I wrote up a little book about the windows in our chapels here (Maryknoll, NY). For what it’s worth, here’s my introductory paragraph:
Stained glass windows have been used for over a thousand years to adorn churches and to illustrate the faith. Far from being a means solely to instruct the illiterate (as some iconoclasts would have it) such windows illuminate more than just the stories they depict and the chapels they adorn. They touch us on a fundamental, physical level as they dapple us with color, reminding us that our Lord is God incarnate, and lived in the same world, was warmed by the same sun, and enjoyed the same beauty as we do, the very colors proclaiming the glory of God.
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