Stained Glass in Catholic Philadelphia (review)

This is a weighty book in every sense of the term. With a large (9 x 13 inch), and lengthy (505 page) format, it is a feast for the eye and an intellectual banquet as well. Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of images of Philadelphia glass, the volume is also a collection of meaty essays on the church of Philadelphia as well as the history, technique, and spirituality of the stained glass window.

A historian of stained glass, Jean M. Farnsworth, introduces the book with some notes on the nineteenth-century revival of stained glass. Michael W. Cothran of Swarthmore College follows with an essay on the medieval background of stained glass. He provides a good treatment of Abbot Suger and the Abbey of St. Denis, the cradle of the technique and spirituality of stained glass.

David R. Contosta of Chestnut Hill College contributes a lengthy article on the social fabric of the church of Philadelphia as revealed in its stained glass. Sandra L. Tatman of Towson University relates the stained glass windows to the architectural styles popular in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Victoria Donohue, Senior Art Critic of the Philadelphia Inquirer, adds a reflection on the evolution of aesthetic taste in liturgical art over the past two centuries.

The next two essays concentrate on the spirituality expressed in Philadelphia's stained glass. Jean M. Farnsworth reflects on the linkage of faith and culture revealed in the glass of the archdiocese's ethnic parishes. Joseph F. Chorpenning of St. Joseph's University focuses on the details of the iconography in the windows, concentrating on the Sacred Heart, Marian doctrines, and ethnic saints.

Another series of the essays follows on the unusual program of apocalyptic windows in the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Carmen R. Croce of St. Joseph's University gives a brief history of the building of the church itself and an outline of the cycle of apocalyptic windows. Theresa B. McGuire of Chestnut Hill College and Ruth McGugan of Loyola University contribute a learned treatment of medieval apocalyptic spirituality that adds welcome depth for the interpretation of the Norristown windows. William T. Stancil of Rockhurst University links St. Francis' windows with the apocalyptic mood of the 1950's cold war during which they were created.

Jean Farnsworth adds a brief but important note on the donors of stained glass windows and their incorporation into the iconography.

The next two articles deal with the practical treatment of historic windows. Joseph K. Beyer of the Beyer Stained Glass Studio in Philadelphia details the pioneering efforts of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to retrieve and recycle historic glass. Virginia Raguin of Holy Cross College contributes an article on the ethics of restoration.

Stephen Happel of the Catholic University of America concludes the essays with some thoughts on stained glass windows as metaphors for the Catholic soul.

The book concludes with a photo catalogue of glass in various parishes, a catalogue of the studios involved in designing the windows, a brief technical note on creating stained glass, and a useful glossary of terms.

The scholarly apparatus for each chapter is formidable. Readers who wish to pursue the subject of stained glass have all the clues necessary to penetrate the labyrinth of history, theology, and spirituality that lies beneath the stained glass of Philadelphia's Catholic churches.

The glory of the book is the photography. There are hundreds of images taken at various angles, concentrating on details, inaccessible to the casual visitor. One is left wishing for a supplementary volume of the many windows that could not be included.

This is a scholarly work that I am sure will take its place as a classic in the special niche of studies devoted to the Church of Philadelphia.