Doctors of the Church Windows

New Techniques Bring Ancient Figures to Life in Glass

How do you bring a fresh perspective to a 1500-year-old saint who has been portrayed in thousands of artworks? This was the question faced by glass artist Sarah Hall, and her creative response will be seen this month when St. Catharine of Siena Church unveils twelve large painted-glass windows honoring the Doctors of the Church. The Doctors of the Church are the most celebrated teachers in Catholicism.

These windows represent the final phase of an arduous six-year project that saw 33 monumental windows installed at St. Catharine’s – each of them designed by artist Sarah Hall and made at the studio of Glasmalerei Peters.

The twelve windows, each measuring 12 ½’ high by 4 ½’ wide, are created using an innovative technique developed by Sarah Hall and Glasmalerei Peters. This technique allows the stained glass artist to “paint with light” and create expressive, luminous figures – a far cry from the heavy, traditional representations found in so many churches. These 12 Doctors of the Church windows are unique in stained glass art, and will set a North American precedent for contemporary painted, figurative work.

The windows are in honor of the Doctors of the Church – visionaries that the Church has singled for their exceptional contributions to Christian thought and spirituality. In two thousand years of history only thirty-three individuals have been accorded the title of doctor ecclesiae. The Doctor’s represent centuries of religious writing and thought, from St. Ambrose, born AD 339, to St. Térèse of Liseux, born fifteen centuries later, in 1873.

The twelve Doctors selected for the windows are: Catharine of Siena (donated by the children of the parish), Augustine, Therese of Lisieux, Bernard of Clairvaux, Ambrose, Anthony of Padua, Jerome, Francis de Sales, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Thomas Aquinas and Gregory the Great.

The windows’ theme has special meaning for this parish, since its namesake, St. Catharine of Siena (1347-1380), was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI, in 1970. Monsignor David Sorohan, architect Peter Krajnak and the church’s Art & Environment committee have overseen the window program. Glasmalerei Peters, in Paderborn, Germany, is one of Europe’s largest and most prestigious stained glass studios. It is well known for its innovation, technical creativity and extensive facilities collaborated with Sarah Hall on this project.