Marguerite d’Youville
Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Nave: 12 windows. Sanctuary: Stained Glass Rosette
(Laminated double and triple layer glass air-brushed, hand painted and sandblasted. Nave windows air-brushed and silver-stained.)

"The inspiration for the theme of the window came directly from the life of the church’s titular saint, St. Marguerite d’Youville. Born in Varennes, Québec in 1701, she died in 1771 after a lifetime of ministering to the sick, poor and outcast. Sarah learned that Marguerite had once planted an orchard on an island in the St. Lawrence river in order to help feed the poor: "I was absolutely captivated by the idea of what it’s like to lie down in an orchard and look up through the branches to the sky." She went out to Toronto’s High Park and photographed apple trees. Abstracted to fit Renzo Pillon’s circle and grid, the image of the orchard became the central theme of the oculus. In acknowledgement of Father Wayne’s inspired fundraiser, the theme of pilgrimage, or journey, is also present in the spiral leading inward and the three soaring birds. The golden light beyond the trees is a reference to St. Marguerite’s devotion to God the Father.  
 
The nave windows are twelve in number, resonating with the twelve apostles, tribes of Israel and the gates of Jerusalem. Very painterly in style, they consist of airbrushed silver stain and enamels that underwent several firings. Some areas were lightly sandblasted to create variations in depth. The ensemble spreads across both sides of the nave wall like twelve glowing columns of fire, full of movement and energy, but never overpowering. With their undulating colors and flowing rhythms, they gently but compellingly affirm the place of light and color in the life of the spirit. They are a tour de force of brilliant design and execution."  
 
Peter Coffman