Wednesday 2 July 2014

Photo of the month - July 2014

The Resurrection of Christ (depicted on one of the windows in the outer shrine).

The stained glass windows were installed about 1957 and were executed by Richard Joseph King. This series of windows can be compared to similar windows made for the Church of Swinford in Mayo in the 1950s. The artist also did a picture of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for the Carmelite Church in Aberystwyth.

Note the crosses of Calvary in the background on the right. The angel of the resurrection on the bottom right and Pieta on the bottom left reflect the passion and resurrection theme. The letters INRI on the top of the cross Christ is carrying. Christ displays wounds in his hands. The ChiRho (PX) is the early christian symbol of Christ. The star of Bethlehem in the background on the left is a reference to the birth of Christ. This symbol is balanced by the crosses on the right which refer to his death. Rays coming from heaven are seen behind the Christ figure. The influence of cubism in the. handling of the composition is particularly seen in the interaction between Christ's halo and the cross, and in the handling of the empty tomb at the bottom of the picture. Note also the symbolic treatment of colour: red and white symbolise passion and resurrection, yellow, white and blue are also resurrection colours favoured by King.

For more information on the stained glass window, please visit our special page