The Rose Window

The window is over thirteen feet in diameter. It's round shape and separate sections are likened to a rose and its petals. The center circle of the window is the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He is surrounded by eight smaller circles which feature important women saints of the Church. From the top clockwise, they are:

Saint Agnes (Top Circle). She was only thirteen when she died as a martyr during the Roman Persecutions of 305 AD. She is shown holding a lamb, the symbol of sacrifice, and palms, a symbol of triumph over sin and death.

Saint Cecilia (Upper West Circle). A second century Christian of Rome. Her name has been mentioned in the Canon of the Church from the earliest centuries. She is acclaimed a s the Patroness of Music and is shown near an organ.

St. Rose of Lima (Middle West Circle). One of the early saints of the newly discovered Americas. She lived near the end of the sixteenth century in Lima, Peru. She entered the Dominican Order and chose a life style of severe penance and self-denial in imitation of the Way of The Cross. She is shown wearing a crown of roses and contemplating a crucifix.

St. Claire (Lower West Circle). A devoted follower of St. Francis of Assisi. She founded the Second Order of St. Francis (Poor Clares). The rules of her order were based on absolute poverty. She is shown holding a pen and the book of her Rules. She is a reminder of the contribution of the Franciscan Sisters to the parish.

St. Catherine of Alexandria (Bottom Circle). Catherine lived in Alexandria, Egypt, in the third century. She was a Christian, well educated and noted for her learning. She rebuked the emperor for his persecution. When he assembled his philosophers to dispute her, her arguments converted a number of them. She was subsequently tortured on a wheel and martyred. She is honored as the patron of Philosophers.

St. Teresa of Avila (Lower East Circle) 1515-1582. Teresa lived in Spain and was a Carmelite nun. She was noted as a reformer of her Order and a Mystic. She was an intellectual and spiritual influence throughout the Church in her lifetime.

St. Barbara (Middle East Circle). A saint of the early church who was martyred in 235 A.D. Little is known of her life. Popular legend was that she was kept in a tower by her father who was angry at her for becoming a Christian. She was later persecuted and condemned to death. She is shown holding a chalice and palms. She is the patron of miners, which is appropriate to O'Neill, whose earliest Irish settlers were coal miners from Pennsylvania and copper miners from Michigan.

St. Scholastica (Upper East Circle). Scholastica was the sister of St. Benedict, who was the founder of Western monasticism. Scholastica too, founded a monastic order of Sisters according to the Rule of Benedict. She died in 543. She is shown as an Abbess with the shepherd's crook.