The story of St. Bernadette’s captured in stained glass
Donations from locals have provided the opportunity for St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church to keep within a tradition of storytelling through art within their chapel used for daily worship.
Father Timothy Gallagher said the windows provide a “little history of the parish” from the time it was founded to their newfound home on Evergreen Lane, and even a depiction of the story of St. Bernadette herself.
Gallagher said a company was responsible for coming up with a final design after ideas were pulled together, and many months later the windows were delivered and installed in the past few weeks.
Local artist Cindy Barrow helped provide a design for one of the windows as well. John Burkart, who provided a donation for one of the windows, explained that several helped with it.
“It really helps to inspire our faith,” Gallagher explained. “The second reason is to preserve our history, for what all these guys did who sacrificed to help bring us to where we are today, so we won’t forget.”
The large window facing parishioners when they enter the chapel tells the story of St. Bernadette, Bernadette Soubirous. Gallagher explained that St. Bernadette was honored with sainthood after in her home in Lourdes after she was visited by the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, and at the spot in a cave experienced a spring form under the vision’s feet.
“She asked her to drink from this water,” Gallagher said. “It wasn’t there before .... Mary directed Bernadette to find that water. When she found it, people began to drink and use the water, and there were some healing attributed to it. Now that’s a site where people can now go, sick people now go, and even have hospitals there in Southern France.”
Gallagher added the site in Lourdes continues to experience pilgrimages from those who wish to drink from the waters from all over the world for “miraculous healing.”
The additional two windows show off the small church that St. Bernadette’s previously called home, and the new sanctuary they have on Evergreen Lane. The window depicting St. Bernadette was dedicated in memory of Ed and Dorothy Riley’s family.
The window depicting the church on North College Street built in 1941 was donated by Burkart’s family. A third depicting the old parish center, as well as the cultural diversity of their membership, was donated in honor of the McAllister family and La Familia Barrientos Diaz, and in memory of Geraldine Arencibia, Dr. Stephen Draper from Leonard and Barbara.