STAI N E D G L ASS
The windows of St. Isabella Meditations for Palm Sunday to Ascension BY MARY POWERS Assistant Director of Communications and Media Relations. Office of Communications, Archdiocese of San Francisco
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s Catholics journey through Lent each year, we are reminded of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus through Holy Week liturgies, readings, meditations and especially through the ancient tradition of Stations of the Cross. The windows of St. Isabella Catholic Church in Terra Linda in Marin County form a series of meditations from Palm Sunday to the Ascension. The 14 panels of windows, consisting of 12 panes each, adorn the top section of the church with brightly colored scenes depicting Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the institution of the Eucharist, the agony in the garden, Christ before Pilate, Jesus carrying his cross, Christ’s descent from the cross and burial, the resurrection, the road to Emmaus and the ascension. Below these windows are smaller windows depicting biblical scenes from the life of Christ. Each of the 14 panels is remarkable not only because of the intricate colors, but also because of the drama and interwoven storyline in each scene — Judas turning on Christ between the Last Supper and the agony in the garden, the soldiers heading toward the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem while
Jesus prays, the mourners at the foot of the empty cross on Calvary, an angel kicking down the door of the tomb in the background on Easter Sunday, and a striking absence of Christ at the ascension with the apostles left staring up. The inspiration for this, according to Chris Powers, was his young son mixing up the designs one day, helping him visualize the integrated storyline. Created by Powers Stained Glass in Scottsdale, Arizona, the windows were designed especially for St. Isabella’s. Brothers John, Chris and Tony, three of 11 children, worked together to create windows for religious and secular projects. The St. Isabella windows were one of their first major projects, begun in 2002 and completed a little more than three years later. The brothers used the Tiffany glass method rather than painting, using a technique of soldering and wrapping the glass with copper. According to Chris Powers, all of the large, shaded areas and shadows in the windows are large solder areas, copper covered with solder. Joining the parish at the dedication Mass, John Powers commented, “We were sitting in the pews and we all three of us were all stunned at the whole project. Because when you’re working on everything you see it and you don’t see it. … It was a fantastic feeling to go back and be part of it.” Originally built as a gym with the hope of constructing another church building, St. Isabella’s ended up making the temporary solution a permanent one. Speaking with reporter Patrick Joyce around the time the windows were APRIL 2022 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO
