About Stained Glass

St. Vincent de Paul comes in the top 30 most popular saints in America, with 141 Catholic churches named after him. Born in France in 1581, he distinguished himself throughout his life by his compassion, humility, and generosity. No wonder he is known as the “Great Apostle of Charity” and is the patron saint of […]

St. Raphael is one of the Archangels of God. He is mentioned by name in the Book of Tobit which is considered canonical by Catholics. In Catholic art, stained glass windows sometimes show Raphael standing on top of a large fish, or holding a fish at the end of a line. This refers to the […]

St. Padre Pio was originally named Francesco Forgione, born in Italy in 1887. He was clearly an extraordinary child who was drawn to the priesthood from an early age. He was named Padre Pio (meaning Pious) after being ordained into the priesthood. At about the age of 30, when praying in front of a crucifix […]

Very little is known about St. Sophia, only that she lived in Egypt in the third century. She became a martyr in Alexandria when she was beheaded during the reign of Emperor Claudinus (or Claudius). Those who perished with her included St. Irene and St. Castor. Her feast day is celebrated on September 18th. She […]

Robert Bellarmine lived in the sixteenth century and was one of the most important figures in the Counter-Reformation. He was born in Italy, the third of ten children. Robert joined the Jesuits, and became a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He has been named a Doctor of the Church and was canonized in 1930. St. […]

St. Sofia was born in Italy in the second century AD. She had three daughters named Faith, Hope and Love. All three daughters were cruelly martyred during the reign of Hadrian, each one being beaten, tortured and beheaded. Sofia buried her daughters’ bodies and then remained at their graves until she died three days later. […]

St. Nicholas of Tolentino was named after St. Nicholas of Myra. His middle-aged parents were so thankful that their prayers to St. Nicholas for a child had been answered, that they named their son Nicholas. He was born in 1245 in Italy. At the age of sixteen Nicholas became an Augustinian Friar, and was ordained […]

Peter Claver was born in Spain in 1580. He studied to become a Jesuit priest and then travelled to Colombia as a missionary. He worked in the port city of Cartagena which was the biggest slave market of the New World, where a thousand slaves landed every month. St Peter Claver would board the ships […]

St. Adrian is also known as Hadrian or Adrian of Nicodemia. He lived during the Fourth Century AD and was a Herculian Guard of the Roman Emperor Maximian. One day when he was watching a group of Christians being tortured he was so impressed by their courage that he decided to become a Christian and […]

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta is most commonly known as Mother Teresa. A truly remarkable woman, Teresa was born in Albania in 1910, and died at the age of 87 in India. She was a Roman catholic Religious Sister who founded the “Missionaries of Charity” who now work in over 130 countries of the world. They […]