The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-02-08
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RELIGION AND CHIVALRY.

The two great rose-windoWS in the
transept of the building are not dis
tinctively French, but deal with the
subjects that have given the eldest
daughter of the Church her inspira-
ton. The one on the espistle side
represents Christ in prophecy and full
filment as foretold in the Old Tesla
ment and actualized in the New On
the gospel side of the transept, the
fifteen mysteries of the Rosary are
pictured. The final zone-the Corona
ton of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven
forms the subject of the large center
window while the others are grouped
around it.
The Patron of the Church.
The life of the sanity Louis, King of
France, patron of the church, his
childhood under the care of sanity
mother, his bringing of the sacred
crown of thorns from Beauvais to
Paris, his Imprisonment by the Turks,
his charity toward the plague-stricken
soldiers during his second crusade to
the Holy Land and, finally, his last
Communion on his death bed-these
are the scenes represented in the win
dows that adorn the sanctuary.
statuary and Carving.
The idea which correlates the
series of windows-Gesta Del Per
E,ropooe So oorr;od ont in +bo c+otI1aTv
and carvings of the altar, to which the
scenes enshrined in the windows lead
the mind. In the Tabernacle dwells
Christ, the source and inspiration of
all that has been accomplished for re-
ligion by France, the fount from which
the French Canadians must draw the
strength to be faithful to the ideals of
their forefathers. On the altar is SYM
bolized the great virtues of Religion
and Patriotism. On the gospel side
stands a statue of the Blessed
Joan of Arc with her banner;
and on the epistle side is st. John
the Baptist, patron of Canada,
holding the Cross. Joan with her
banner personifies love of country: st.
John with the Cross, represents re-
ligion The maid stands for dignity
and refinement, the man, for strength;
the maiden typifies virtue; the Precur-
sor, sacrifice. Carved on the panels
of the altar one finds the maple leaf,
the symbol of Canada, and the sheaf
of wheat, reminder to the French
Canadians that they live in Mime
sota The wheat and the grapes on
the door of the tabernacle symbolic
the bread and wine used in the Mass
the supreme act of the religion
which has been the inspiration of the
French nation since the baptism OF
Clovis.
To the people of the Church of st.
Louis much credit is due for the many
sacrifices they have made in the build
ing and identifying of this sacred edi-
fee. One of the rewards, however, of
all their toll is the possession of a
truly artistic church, which is fitting
frame for the sacred picture of truth.
The windows which, in their blending
of rich colors and in their harmony
with the mural decorations, approach
the French cathedral windows OF the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries may
truly be called sermons which reach
the heart through the eyes instead OF
entering it at the ears" The series,
showing how the brightest glories OF
the French people have been inspired
by Catholicism, is indeed splen-
did example of the art of placing
images of beauty between earth and
heaven for the edification of the peo-
pie, for the love of the beautiful and
for the honor of God"