Art and Archives
-
-
(Additional images and text to come. Please check back for updates.)
“Every picture tells a story. St. Peter Church is filled with beautiful artwork, including stained glass windows, stations of the cross, and sculpture. Each piece tells a story of a particular moment in the life of Jesus, Mary, or the saints. But they all are part of one big story, the story of God’s love for us, manifested in the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Christian art has the ability to preach to the people, by drawing us in to the mystery of God’s love for us. Even when no one is in this pulpit, there is a lot of preaching going on in this Dominican church!”
Fr. Tom Condon, O.P.,
Socius, Province of St. Martin de Porres
Former Pastor, St. Peter Church
-
-
-
Stained Glass Windows
The oldest window, made in 1899 in Franz Mayer’s studio in Munich, Germany, was installed in 1900 over the main altar. It depicts St. Dominic receiving the rosary from the Blessed Mother. On the left side of the main panel is St. Peter, and on the right, St. Paul. The lower panels depict four angels holding symbols of our salvation through Jesus; a lily, a Crown of Thorns and a cup, a cross, and the crown and scepter, symbolizing in the same order, innocence and purity, Christ’s suffering, His death, and finally, His resurrection.
The last stained glass window to be installed is over the main entrance and was made by Franz X. Zettler, Munich, Germany. It was installed in 1924 as a memorial to all parishioners who served in World War I and depicts a kneeling soldier and sailor surrounded by Dominican saints. Legend has it that the faces of all Dominican saints in the window bear a resemblance to the pastor of the church at the time the window was installed.
All other windows in the church were made in Franz Mayer’s Chicago studio and installed between 1913 and 1918. The windows over the St. Joseph and St. Mary altars respectively are of Blessed Imelda of Bologna and St. Thomas Aquinas.
The stained glass windows on the west side of the church depict the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary; the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the finding of Jesus in the Temple. The windows on the east side depict the five Glorious Mysteries; The Resurrection, the Ascension, The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, and her Coronation as Queen of Heaven.
Between the stained glass windows are placed fourteen Stations of the Cross, which depict Christ’s suffering on His journey to Calvary.
-
Artwork & Architectural Details
Other decorative motifs include numerous carvings and intricate plaster work featuring the Gothic trefoil and quatrefoil, cherubim, acanthus leaves and stalactite style structures supporting the statues of Saints Peter and Paul over the main altar. The brass and alabaster light fixtures date from 1925, although the Church was wired for electricity in 1900. The only marble statues in the church are the ones of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, both made of white Carrara marble. The main altar itself is constructed of scagliola, a man made material that is painted to resemble marble. The Tabernacle on the main altar contains the consecrated communion bread. Below the table of the altar, is a depiction of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper”. The sanctuary floor contains the Dominican motto: to praise, to bless, to preach, and the word “Veritas” meaning “Truth”. The Dominican seal is also on the right pedestal and the Dominican Cross is on the left pedestal. The Altar of Sacrifice, conforming to the Vatican II Council’s Liturgical Reforms, is carved to match the Gothic style pews. In the sanctuary on the left wall is the ambrey which holds holy oils used for various sacraments. The reliquary on the right wall contains relics of the saints.
The medallions of twelve Dominican saints in the raised portion of the nave are painted in oil on canvas and were probably installed around 1915.
The two medallions over the choir loft are St. Cecilia. patroness of musicians, and St. Gregory the Great, patron of Church musicians.
The large crucifix in the Baptistery area was originally ordered for Calvary Episcopal Church. When it arrived it was too large and was given to St. Peter’s.
-