The Windows of the Fordham University Church

The six windows lining the nave of the Fordham University Church were originally a gift from King Louis Philippe of France to Archbishop John Hughes for the old St. Patrick's Cathedral in lower Manhattan. The archbishop gave the windows to the chapel under construction at Fordham because they were the wrong size for the cathedral.

The windows, depicting the four evangelists, St. Peter, and St. Paul [photo at left of screen: a section of the window depicting St. Paul the Apostle], are examples of modern realism circa 1846 [photo at right: a section of the window depicting St. Matthew]. Created by artists in Sevres, France, they are tied to the earliest stages of the Gothic Revival.

The stained-glass windows in the sanctuary and transepts date back to the 1929 renovations to the University Church and were made in Munich. The three sets of windows in the sanctuary are the Holy Family Windows, depicting (at left) Madonna and Child in a Nativity Scene and (at right) the Death of St. Joseph. Behind the reredos of the main altar is a circular window that depicts Christ in the Temple.

The windows in the right transept are the Jesuit windows, depicting (l. to r.): St. Ignatius receiving a divine vision at LaStorta, Italy; St. Aloysius Gonzaga receiving communion from St. Charles Borromeo; and the great missionary St. Francis Xavier with representative figures of Asia.

The windows in the left transept are the Apparition Windows, featuring significant divine apparitions. They are (l. to r.): The apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernard of Clairvaux; Christ appearing to children; and Christ appearing to St. Thomas Aquinas.

Credits: Carolyn Farrar (text); Gene Plaisted, O.S.C. (photos); James Hentges, O.S.C. (editor)