Stained Glass in the Nave illuminates the lives of Jesus, Mary & Joseph (part three in a series)

Opening the doors of the St. Joseph Chapel on a morning where the dusk light is just shining through, the Nave of the chapel has an aura of blue. This often causes the observer to wonder, ‘why is that?’ 

To find the answer, one only has to look to the stained glass to see how the light illuminates the predominate colors of rose and blue. This draws attention to the various scenes that illustrate the lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. 

“Stained glass in the Nave of the chapel is more than art,” said Father David Huemmer, chaplain at the St. Joseph Retreat & Conference Center.” The images can help us to enter into prayer and worship more deeply.” 

The symbols and images throughout the chapel are designed to be catechetical, meant to teach young and old alike about key events in salvation history.  

“But the Chapel is also living thing—the Eucharistic presence breathes life into it,” he added. “Without that, the religious imagery is often reduced to a museum. We want guests to utilize the stained glass to encounter Christ, as well as to utilize the beauty and artisanship to help in this endeavor.” 

The Nave features eight windows each with three images for a total of 24 images. The images draw visitors into key moments in the lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The story begins with the first west window of the Nave. All the images are in chronological order if read from the bottom to the top--square, circle then diamond image. The story starts with the Presentation of Blessed Virgin in the Temple and ends with five Marian apparitions. 

The images that reflect the Rosary and the Marian apparition extoling the Blessed Virgin Mary giving rosaries to St. Dominic were featured in the July 2023 blog. Stepping out of the Rosary, this article highlights other events in the lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph that are depicted in the windows.  

“With St. Joseph being known as the silent saint, sometimes the opportunity to ponder his life gets missed,” said Father Huemmer. “Isn’t it fitting that in a chapel in his honor, there are, along with the events in which he is present in the rosary, four unique images that draw us closer to our patron saint and allow us to reflect on his role in Jesus and Mary’s lives.” 

The circle image in window two shows the Vision of St. Joseph where during his sleep, an Angel appears to St. Joseph and gives him the advice to not fear choosing Mary as his wife.  

Window three features the circle image of St. Joseph escorting the Blessed Virgin, carrying the Child Jesus in her arms, into Egypt. The diamond image that follows shows the Holy Family in Nazareth where Jesus assists St. Joseph in His works, the Virgin is weaving.   

The circle image of window four depicts the Death of Saint Joseph where St Joseph, laid upon his bed, is giving his soul into the hands of an Angel. The Virgin is kneeling in prayer. 

The windows shed light into other aspects of Mary’s life starting with the square image of window one highlighting the Presentation of Blessed Virgin in Temple and then the Espousal of Blessed Virgin to St. Joseph is presented in the diamond window. 

The diamond image of window four depicts the Parting of the Blessed Virgin and Jesus.  

The diamond image of window five shows the Virgin Mary at Tomb of Jesus. 

The square images of window six reveals Mary receiving Holy Communion from St. John, the apostle, and the circle window expresses the Death of Mary or the Dormition of Mary as it is often called.  

Marian apparitions round out the nave windows. The circle image of window seven features Mary at Mt. Carmel where the Virgin, sitting on a throne with the Child Jesus in Her arms, is escorted by Carmelites who have lilies in their hands. 

The set of images in window eight features three apparitions of Mary.  

The square image is Our Lady of Lourdes where the Virgin appears to Bernadette who is at prayer and lighted by her cousins with cierges (candles).  

In the circle image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Virgin, in glory, is standing upon a crescent supported by an Angel on each side. Believers are at prayer.   

The final diamond image of Our Lady of Fatima reveals the Virgin appearing to the three children above an oak. She brings the Rosary. It is rather marvelous to recall that the St. Joseph Chapel was built a mere 40 years after this apparition in Portugal! 

“Before many Catholic Christians became literate, the role of stained glass was to visually display the teaching of the Bible,” said Father Huemmer. “Today, the images are another tool reinforcing what is learned in the church, the classroom and at home. We pray that the window images will engage guests in our faith and allow them to experience God’s great love present in the windows and especially in the Eucharistic presence.” 

The archivist from the Congregation of St. Joseph recently shared the original 28-page Iconography of the Stained-Glass Windows of the St. Joseph Chapel booklet with the retreat center. Updated, and available for guests to review in the lectern bookshelf just outside of the Chapel, it is the basis for a series of blog articles about the chapel stained glass.  

To read part one of the Iconography of the Stained Glass of the St. Joseph Chapel, follow this link https://stjosephretreat.org/blog/stained-glass-in-the-st-joseph-chapel-tells-a-story-of-salvation-part-one 

Find part two, “Praying the Rosary with the stained glass in the St. Joseph Chapel,” at this link https://www.stjosephretreat.org/blog/pray-the-rosary-with-the-stained-glass-in-the-st-joseph-chapel-part-two-of-a-series. Follow this link to find the stained-glass rosary images and find a pocket guide to praying the rosary along with the images  https://www.stjosephretreat.org/st-joseph-chapel-stained-glass