Stained Glass

The windows in the Upper Church of Gesu were made at the Royal Bavarian Art Institute in Munich, Germany under the supervision of the noted German artist Franz Xavier Zettler in the first decades of the twentieth century. They manifest the “Munich Style.” In this style, religious scenes are painted on larger sheets of glass and then fused to the glass through firing in intense heat. This allows for a blending of colors not attainable by the old medieval style, in which any change of color required a separate piece of colored glass which had to be cut to size and fitted with its own leaded framework.

An example of Munich Style stained glass

In windows of the Munich Style the leaded seams do not interrupt or intrude upon the scene, but are camouflaged by the design in a way that makes them hardly noticeable. This allows for extremely detailed depictions of scenes. The style was heavily influenced by the emotion and sentimentality of the 19th century European Romantic style of painting and the detail and ornateness of the German Baroque style.

The Munich Style was later adapted and modified by the great American designer, Louis Comfort Tiffany. While the latter’s name may be more known to people today, in their own era it was apparent who was the master and who was the student: At the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, a Zettler window won top prize over a Tiffany!

Clerestory Windows

Gesu has 39 clerestory windows. The windows portray saints and group them into distinct heavenly choirs.

Nave

We'll start in the back of the church and view the sixteen clerestory windows of the nave. From back to front, we have the choir of married women: St. Elizabeth of Hungary (east) and St. Monica (west), followed by the choir of virgins: St. Agnes (east) and St. Rose of Lima (west).

The next set of windows both portray Jesuit saints. On the east are St. John Francis Regis, and St. Peter Claver, both pastors; while on the west side stand St. John Berchmans, and St. Stanislaus Kostka, both of whom died in the course of formation and so, though Jesuits, never were ordained priests.

Progressing forward, we find the choir of doctors of the church: St. Thomas Aquinas (east) and St. Jerome (west), followed by the choir of martyrs: St. Laurence (east) and St. Stephen (west). The final set of clerestory windows in the nave begins with missionaries: St. Gall (east) and St. Patrick (west), and finally the choir of apostles: St. Andrew (east) and St. James the Greater (west).

Transept

The sixteen clerestory windows of the transept are divided into Old Testament (west) and New Testament (east). Let's begin on the west side. On the north we have the choir of Archangels: St. Michael and St. Raphael, followed by the choir of Patriarchs: Melchizedek and Moses. On the south side of the transept, we see the Choir of Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.

Moving to the east transept, we have three saints who precede Jesus: St. Anne, his grandmother, St. John the Baptist, and St. Elizabeth, John's mother, and finally we see St. Mary Magdalene. On the south side of the transept, we see the Choir of Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Apse

Now, we come to the culmination of all, the clerestory windows of the apse. The central window, of course, is Jesus represented here as Savior of the World, his right hand extended in blessing, his left securing the orb of the world. He is flanked by Mary (east) and St. Joseph (west). These in turn are flanked by St. Peter (east) and St. Paul (west). And finally, we come to the outer windows, two saints who can never be absent from a Jesuit church: St. Ignatius (east) and St. Francis Xavier (west).

Nave Windows

There are twelve windows in the Nave; they tell the story of Jesus.

To view them in proper order, one should begin in the east transept. The first window depicts the Annunciation as the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear a child. (Luke 1:26-38) Proceeding around the corner, one reaches the Presentation in the Temple. Simeon holds the child Jesus, while the prophetess Anna looks on. (Luke 2:21-40) Continuing to move north, one see the boy Jesus teaching in the temple (Luke 2:41-52); an infant John the Baptist encountering Jesus; and Jesus blessing the little children. (Luke 18:15-17) All five of the windows on the east side of the Nave have, thus, the child Jesus and children as their theme. New life is illumined by the light of the morning sun.

Moving now to the windows on the west side of the Nave, we will proceed from the back to the front of the church. Here, we encounter the adult Jesus. First, two miracles: the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish (Mark 6:20-44), and the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-12); then the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8); and finally the Agony in the Garden. (Mark 14:32-43) Note, how the arrest party has just entered the garden, Judas still clutching the bag of silver. Turn the corner, and there's a marvelous representation of the Resurrection. All the windows of the adult life are all illumined by the afternoon and evening sun.

Yet all this only adds up to ten. Where are the other two windows of the Nave? They are up the steps before the doors that lead to the east and west sacristies. By the Sacred Heart altar on the east side, there is a window dedicated to the Sacred Heart, and on the west side a windows depicts Our Lady of Lourdes appearing to St. Bernadette.

There is even a thirteenth window, one most never see. When the music ministry office was renovated and the bridal room redone in 1987, the window from the old baptistry was cut in two. If you go to the bridal room, you can just make out the scene of Jesus' Baptism.

Transept Windows

The Ascension Window

The large stained glass windows in the east and west sides of the transept measure 27' by 47' and at the time of their creation were among the largest in the world. The east window depicts the Nativity, while the west depicts the Ascension.

On July 12, 1919 both transept windows were destroyed by a wind storm, they were both painstakingly restored.

Rose Window

The Rose Window, one of the many glories of the Church of the Gesu, measures 28' in diameter. It is set in a pointed Gothic arch above the choir gallery. It is cut by fourteen mullions radiating from a central rondel which depicts the seal of the Society of Jesus. Each mullion terminates in another rondel which depicts of a saint of the Church. Click on the individual saints to read their stories.

The magnificent Gesu Rose Window