About Stained Glass

St. Roch was born in France in the fourteenth century. He was born with a red birthmark on his chest in the form of a cross. When his father died, Roche distributed his inheritance to the poor and set out on a pilgrimage to Italy. When he reached Italy he found an outbreak of plague […]

Born in Poland in 1894, St. Maximilian Kolbe became a Franciscan monk. During his lifetime, St. Maximilian founded the Immaculata Movement devoted to Our Lady. He also travelled to Japan and India to spread the Movement there. Due to ill health he returned to Poland and was arrested and imprisoned when the Second World War […]

The existence of St. Philomena was first discovered in 1802 when her remains were found in a catacomb belonging to St. Priscilla in Rome. It is believed that she was a young Roman virgin martyr who died at the age of about thirteen. The stones which covered her remains had drawings on them which have […]

Susanna was born to a noble family in Rome in the third century AD and was related to Pope Caius. At an early age she made a vow of virginity. She refused a marriage arranged by the Emperor Diocletian and was instrumental in converting some of the court officers who tried to convince her to […]

In 1480 in Italy a boy called Gaetano dei Conti di Tiene was born to Lord Gaspar and Mary Porter. In later life he became known as St. Cajetan. He was a Catholic priest and religious reformer who founded the Theatines together with four companions. St. Cajetan was concerned about spiritual healing and he endeavoured […]

St. Claudia was a first century saint and the mother of Pope Linus. Her father was the British King Caratacus who was defeated by Aulus Plautius and held in chains. When the Emperor Claudius released him, his daughter took the name of Claudia and was baptized in Rome. In the second Biblical letter of St. […]

St. Clare was born in 1194 of noble Italian parents. She was a devout follower of St. Francis of Assisi and ran away from home to give herself to God and to live a poor and humble life for Jesus. She founded an order of nuns called the “Poor Clares”. Sacred art and stained glass […]

St. Alphonsus was born in Italy in 1696. He became a Catholic bishop and was a prolific writer and theologian. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, which was dedicated to working among the poor. In 1762 at the age of sixty-eight he was appointed Bishop of Sant’Agata dei Goti despite his protestations. […]

According to Eastern legend, St. Charity was the daughter of Wisdom (also known as St. Sofia) and her sisters were Faith and Hope. Their Latin names were Fides, Spes and Caritas (meaning Faith, Hope and Charity). St. Charity and her two sisters were martyred during the persecution of Christians under the reign of the Roman […]

St. Christopher is well known as the patron saint of travellers, and is seen in sacred art and stained glass carrying a child on his shoulders. Legend has it that Christopher was crossing a river when a child asked to be carried over. When he put the child on his shoulders he discovered he was […]