The Stained Glass Windows of St. Agatha - St. James Church

Stained Glass Windows...You Can Help

Please consider the invitation and opportunity for you to sponsor the repair and renovation of a stained glass window, perhaps in memory of a loved one. This page details the cost of the work that needs to be done on the various stained glass windows. Several of the windows (whose cost of repair is in green) have already found generous sponsors. The remaining windows, in red, are still in need of sponsors.

Please contact Fr. Steve Marinucci (215-386-9732, info@saintsaj.org) if you are interested in contributing to the repair of any of the stained glass windows.

Background Information on the Stained Glass Windows of SS. AJ

The majority of the windows in the church are Bavarian, constructed before the turn of the twentieth century. All of the aisle windows, the two large, three-lancet windows in the transept, and the 7 clerestory windows in the apse, high above the main altar, [Apostles with James as the center] appear to be from the famous Zetler Studio. They are the oldest painted glass windows in the Church and predate the majority of stained glass in Catholic Churches in America.

The Saint Margaret Mary and Sacred Heart window, on the west [38th Street] of the apse, is the work of Franz Mayer, the most famous of all the Bavarian Studies. The three windows in the Baptistery [behind the altar and not visible from the pews] were painted by the famous Philadelphia glass artist, Paula Balano. It is possible that the two pairs of lancet windows behind the altar [not visible from the pews] are also her work. The remaining windows in the Church, stair towers, sacristy, etc., are the work of an unidentified American studio, most likely in Philadelphia. The Beyer Studio, who did an appraisal of the condition and cost of repair of our Church's windows in December 2003, reports: "Certainly these windows represent one of the most significant collections of painted windows in Philadelphia." Both the Church and its windows were highlighted in Stained Glass in Catholic Philadelphia, Saint Joseph University Press, 2002.

The Beyer Studio who evaluated the condition of our Stained Glass in December 2003 has this in general to report: "Presently we find various conditions throughout the windows. Missing glass interrupts the composition in some windows. In others, thin borders of glass were lost due to rough handling over the years of the operable ventilators [the moveable parts of the window connected and manipulated by chains]. Crude attempts at repair in the past are more in the nature of additional damage than true restoration. Generally speaking, parts of most windows suffer from a weakened condition of the lead matrix. Over time, fatigue in the metal that forms the structure for the lead matrix results in cracks and breaks in the leading. Stop-gap repairs only make matters worse. While the glass will remain stable forever, the leading has already reached or is approaching its life expectancy." Then there are several windows that have been identified as needing immediate attention because the bulging outward of the glass is creating a condition where the glass can fall out and shatter.