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Church Windows
click on any of the images to view a larger version

The Meaning of Color
The colors in the windows reflect God’s Holy Love.
He sends this quest to follow from His Heavenly Home above.

The green for growth and challenge,
            The red for courage true;
            Through faith, trust, and thoughtfulness,
            You find the color blue. 

The yellow is for happiness,
            with thoughts of Peace to come;
            Through friendship, understanding,
            There is Hope for everyone.

St. Margaret Mary of Alacoque and the Sacred Heart    
Margaret Mary was born in France and as a young child dedicated her life to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  She experienced visions of Christ since she was twenty in which Christ informed her that she was chosen by God to spread devotion to His Sacred Heart.  From our Lord’s request and promise to St. Margaret Mary, it became customary to observe the first Friday of each month and to receive the Eucharist on nine successive first Fridays.  This window was donated in memory of Jacob and Anna Jung.

The Annunciation
Mary received the announcement from the Angel Gabriel that she was to be the Mother of God, with the following words, “Do not be afraid Mary, for thou has found grace with God.  The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; and therefore, the Holy One to be born shall be called the Son of God.”  At the very instant the fact was announced, “The Word Became Flesh” in the womb of Mary so that in commemorating the Annunciation, we really commemorate the Incarnation of Jesus.  This window, of particular detail and beauty, was donated in memory of the family of Franz and Maldanena Knopp.

The Sorrowful Mother
This window has passionflower vines surrounding it.  Seven sorrows (The Seven Dolors) in Mary’s life are reminders of the spiritual martyrdom of the Mother of God, and her compassion with the sufferings of her  Divine Son.  The seven great events of sorrow in Mary’s life are:
        1.  Prophecy of Simeon of the “Sword of Sorrow”
        2.  The Flight into Egypt
        3.  Three Days’ Loss of Jesus in the Temple
                                        4.  The meeting of Jesus and His Mother on the way to Calvary
                                        5.  Mary at the Foot of the Cross, the Crucifixion
                                        6.  Jesus Taken Down from the Cross
                                        7.  The Burial of Jesus
This window is above the confessional on the West side of the church and was donated in memory of Emma Larson.

Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
The second day of February is the feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, which is also called the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin.  Its popular name is Candlemas Day.  Forty days after His Birth, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple of Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord as the law of Moses prescribed.  They carried with them the usual offering of the poor, a pair of turtledoves.  This window shows Jesus in the arms of Simeon, Mary with a candle (the Candlemas Day association) and Joseph with two young turtledoves.  This window was donated in memory of John and Helena Knopp.

Christ the King
Christ the King is a title given to Christ on December 1, 1925 by Pope Pius XI, as issued in his Encyclilia “Quas Primes” in which he stated the fact of Christ’s Kingship over all mankind and clarified its meaning.  In the Apocalypse, Christ is characterized as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS.  It has the Alpha and the Omega (first and last) symbols shown in the window.  This window is in front of the church and is above the double doors that face San Antonio Street.  The window shows Christ sitting on a rainbow as King of the world and was donated in memory of Anton and Marianna Weinheimer.

Holy Family
The family is made up of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and is considered a perfect model for Christian families, since their household possessed perfect harmony and unity cemented by supernatural love.  The window shows the Holy Family in a carpenter’s shop.  The Liturgical following of the Holy Family is of recent date, going back to beginnings in the 17^th century, although Christians in all ages have looked to the Holy Family for the ideal of what a Christian family should be.  Pope Benedict XV, in 1921 extended the feast of the Holy Family to the whole Western church.  The window was probably installed in 1936 during the first major redecoration of the church.  It was donated in memory of Joseph and Heinretta Kunz. 

The Epiphany

Christ surrounded by Passion Flower Vines  

St. Dominic with Mary
Dominic founded the Dominican order known as the Order of Preachers.  The order was a threefold religious order, the convent for nuns to teach children, then an order of Friars and lastly an order of persons of both sexes living in the world.  It was in 1208, while Dominic knelt in the little chapel of Notre Dame de la Prouille, and implored the great Mother of God to save the Church, that Our Lady appeared to him, gave him the Rosary and bade him to go forth and preach.  Beads in hand, he revived the courage of the Catholic troops, led them to victory against overwhelming numbers and finally crushed the heresy (Albigensian heresy – that matter is evil and professing faith in an angelic Christ who did not really undergo human birth or death.)  This window was donated in memory of Anton and Catharina Kunz and Casper and Elizabeth Fritz.

St. Ann with Mary
The Church venerates St. Ann and St. Joachim, both of the tribe of Judah of the royal house of David, as the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was probably their only child.  St. Ann is the Patroness of Housewives and has been honored as a saint from early Christian times.  St. Ann is represented here as teaching her little daughter to read Scriptures.  This window was donated by the St. Ann’s Society of St. Mary’s Parish and is still an active society in the Parish.

St. George
St. George is the Patron Saint of Boy Scouts.  He suffered martyrdom at Lydda, Palestine in 303.  Myth and legend has him slaying a dragon.  St. George is the patron saint of England and his armor, a red cross on a white background, became the basis of the uniforms of the British soldiers and sailors.  This window was donated in memory of William Meurer.

St. Francis
St. Francis is the Patron Saint to Ecologists and his symbols usually are birds, deer, and fish.  He was the first to build a Crèche and also invented the singing of carols.  One day, from the crucifix at St. Damian Chapel, a wayside chapel near Assisi, a voice said to him, “Rebuild my house for it is nearly falling down.”  He then repaired St. Damian and two other nearby churches.   St. Francis received the Stigmata by a flaming angel in the form of a cross to pierce his hands, feet, and side and thus the picture with the cross.  This window is in memory of Msgr. F. C. Neisen who was pastor of St. Mary’s parish when the church was built.

*Guardian Angel with Boy
The boy, James Blum, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Blum.  James died in 1905 at the age of seven.  He fell at school, hit his head, developed an infection, which turned into spinal meningitis, and never recovered.  He was a brother of Mrs. John (Ida) Metzger, who lived in Fredericksburg.  The window was created in Germany where craftsmen worked from an actual photograph of James.

*Guardian Angel with Girl
The girl, Erna Wagner, was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Wagner of San Antonio (he was the contractor of St. Mary’s church.).  Erna died in October of 1903 at the age of five of diphtheria.  Her parents were in Germany at the time.  Erna had been left, along with her sisters, in San Antonio with the Sisters of Divine Providence.  She died and was buried before her parents came home.  Then window was created in Germany where craftsmen worked from an actual photograph of Erna.   

* Guardian Angels are pure spirits endowed with intelligence, will power, and beauty.  They number in the thousands of millions, serving God as messengers, ministers, and guardians of people on earth.  There are three hierarchies:  Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones.

Blessed Mother Mary
Mary, born pure, holy, beautiful and glorious adorned with previous graces.  The picture on this window is the Immaculate Conception.  This window is in the center of the band of windows around the high altar and reminds us that the title of St. Mary’s Parish in the Immaculate Conception.  The window was donated in memory of Theodor and Anna M. Knopp.

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