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The Holy Family is depicted in St. Patrick Catholic Church’s newest addition to its collection of stained glass windows. It was the first window commissioned by the church since around when the current structure was rebuilt in the 1930s. The window is set in the choir loft above the main sanctuary. — The Holyoke Enterprise | Johnson Publications

22-pane gallery of stained glass helps St. Patrick churchgoers see the light

    St. Patrick Catholic Church’s collection of stained glass has received its first addition in more than 70 years, with a glass portrait of the Holy Family that has since been installed in the church’s choir loft.
    The window cost about $19,000, most of which was donated by a parish family who asked to remain anonymous, and joins 21 other panes of stained glass currently bejeweling the church’s interior.
    Father Jerry Rohr said he isn’t sure how much the church paid for the original windows, back when the building was rebuilt after a fire in 1934.
    But he did say that, for himself and his congregation, the historic collection is priceless.
    “I think the stained glass here gives us a sense of permanence,” he said. “It feels like home.”
    Save for the newest window, the church’s stained glass was all made around the time of the 1934 fire. Watkins Stained Glass of Denver manufactured all of St. Patrick’s glass. The company also retouched many of the windows during the church’s renovation in 2017.
    Rohr said the commissioning of the latest window comes amidst a resurgence of interest in the classic aesthetic touch. After falling out of favor with designers, it started to regain popularity in the mid-1980s, which Rohr believes was due to churchgoers looking for stability and a return to tradition in the church.
    “I think people are looking for something that feels iconic. Something that feels stable,” he said. “It’s become very stylish.”
    Rohr named St. Thomas More Catholic Church of Centennial and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Parish in Northglenn as two other Catholic churches in Colorado that are well-known for maintaining large stained glass displays.
    Stained glass has been a fixture in churches since the early days of Christianity in Europe. Glass is colored during the manufacturing process by the addition of various mineral dyes. To produce red glass, for example, gold or copper might be added to the silica that forms the base of most glass when it is melted down. Cobalt is often used to produce blues, and iron oxide and chromium each make green.
    Lines and figures are drawn on the glass using a special paint that contains glass particles. The glass is then reheated, and the paint fuses with the glass itself.
    When Watkins Stained Glass retouched the church’s windows two years ago, they referenced the formulas of the minerals used to color the glass when it was made in the early 1900s.

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