Stained Glass Windows - St. Timothy Parish - Los Angeles, CA

Stained Glass Windows

    • drawing of church

      General Arrangement of Windows

      Note: Arabic numbers shown below in parentheses refer to key numbers on the location diagram. 

      Altogether St. Timothy's has sixty-seven stained glass windows (or thirty·five if the largest windows on the north and south walls be considered to include the small windows beneath them) - either way, a large number for a parish church. Nearly all the windows were crafted in Ireland by the Harry Clarke firm, now defunct. Three newer ones (57, 58, and 59) were done in Los Angeles.

      From casual inspection it may appear that the window subjects were chosen at random. Actually, however, definite patterns exist:

      The sixteen largest windows depict the mysteries of the rosary (1 through 15) and the Holy Family (16). The rectangular emblems on these windows refer most often to titles in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin; the rest symbolize other aspects of the lives of Jesus or Mary.

      stained glass window of Solomon

      Beneath these large windows, the small ones show Old Testament personages (17 through 32) on the south wall of the church and New Testament figures (33 through 46) plus two recent saints (47 and 48) on the north wall.

      In the sanctuary, the three windows on the south show Irish saints (49 through 51); those on the north show St. Paul flanked by two of his disciples, one being St. Timothy, patron of the parish (52 through 54).

      stained glass window of Saint Thomas

      Next, on the south wall, two windows recall the New World appearance of the Virgin and the efforts of the Franciscan missionaries in California (55 and 56). These windows and windows (59, 60, 64, 65) on the opposite wall honor individuals significant to all Catholics and particularly to those of the New World and this archdiocese.

      High in the east wall of the church, the large circular rose-type window depicts the symbols of the four evangelists (67). Saints are often shown with personal emblems (or symbols) by which they may be identified, such as the breast medallion for St. Jude. General symbols include palm fronds for martyrs and lilies for virgins. St. Timothy is represented four times in his church - once in a window (54), once in a painting, twice in statues.

      angels of God

      The Individual Windows

      Note: Key numbers below refer to numbers on the location diagram.

      Joyful Mysteries

      Sorrowful Mysteries

      Glorious Mysteries

      The Holy Family

      Old Testament Figures

      • 17. Adam - meaning "the man," which became a proper name.
      • 18. Moses - leader of the Exodus from Egypt about 1300 years before Christ. He gave the old law, Jesus, the new law. Moses established a priesthood and covenant with God, which are replaced by the new priesthood and new covenant of Jesus. Moses ratified the covenant with animal sacrifice, but Jesus ratified his by offering his own body and blood.
      • 19. Noah - supposed inventor of viniculture and hero of the deluge, whose faith and righteousness saved him and others of his family.
      • 20. Abraham and Isaac - Abraham was the traditional ancestor of the Israelites to whom God revealed himself some 1600 years before Christ. Faith in God is symbolized by his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac at God's command. This account perhaps was originally intended to discourage the ancient evil of human sacrifice.
      • 21. Micheas - the genuine prophet of God who opposed Jezebel and Ahab and the 400 false prophets of the cult of Baal.
      • 22. Jacob - son of Isaac and twin of Esau. He worked for Laban for 14 years in order to marry his daughters, Leah and Rachel. Jacob is the eponymous ancestor of the twelve tribes.
      • 23. Isaiah - this great prophet lived some 700 years before Christ and is the one most cited in the New Testament because he foresaw ultimate salvation through a Messiah.
      • 24. Solomon - son of David and Bathsheba. He personifies wisdom. During his long and prosperous reign he built the Temple.
      • 25. David - reputed ancestor of Christ. He succeeded Saul and was the ideal king. This Goliath-killer and harpist defeated the Philistines and united Israel.
      • 26. Melchizedek - king and priest of Salem, identified with Jerusalem. He was honored and tithed by Abraham and symbolizes Christ as both Priest and King.
      • 27. Daniel - semi-historic young nobleman of Judah. Taken into the household of Nebuchadnezzar, he offered encouragement to Jews in their Babylonian exile. Thrown into a lion's den for praying to God, he was preserved from harm.
      • 28. Ezekiel - Hebrew prophet deported to Babylon in 597 B.C. He stressed moral responsibility and a new heart and spirit as essential in every Jew for the restoration of Jewish institutions.
      • 29. Zacharias - his name identifies a Biblical book. A later Zacharias fathered John the Baptist, and the Benedictus prayer is attributed to him.
      • 30. Jeremiah - prophet born about 650 years before Christ. He predicted the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, claiming that the people of Jerusalem at that time did not have the law of God written on their hearts but only on tablets of stone.
      • 31. Job - personifies patience and trust in God during adversity. Despite the jeers of others he refused to blame God for his many misfortunes.
      • 32. Joshua - military leader of the wandering Israelites and guardian of the tabernacle. He succeeded Moses and perhaps completed the conquest of the Promised Land.

       New Testament Figures

      • 33. Stephen - one of the first deasons, preacher in Jerusalem to Greek-speaking peoples; the first Christian martyr.

      • 34. John the Baptist - Jesus declared that nobody born of woman was greater than John, whose ministry ended the era of the old law and the prophets and ushered in the Kingdom of God and the Messiaship of Jesus. Jesus added that even the least person in the new dispensation is greater than John.

      • 35. Paul - at first a persecutor of the Church, he became, after being struck temporarily blind by a vision of Christ while on the road to Damascus, its greatest evangelist and first Christian theologian.

      • 36. Peter - leader of the Apostles and rock of the early Church. He carried Christianity to Rome where he died a martyr. His tomb in St. Peter's is the only verified resting-place of an Apostle.

      • 37. Andrew - an Apostle and brother of Peter. Originally a disciple of John the Baptist. According to one tradition he was crucified at Patras on a cross in the shape of an X.

      • 38. James the Greater - son of Zebedee and brother of John the Evangelist. Only he, John, and Peter were present at several important episodes in Christ's life. The first Apostle to die, he was martyred by Herod.

      • 39. Philip - Apostle from Bethsaida in Galilee. Reputedly he had four virgin daughters who had the gift of prophecy.

      • 40. John - the "beloved disciple," brother of James and the most theological of the four evangelists. He stressed the Word made flesh, the divinity of Christ.

      • 41. Bartholomew - one of the Twelve. Identified with Nathaniel. Supposedly martyred in India.

      • 42. Thomas - another of the Twelve, who was chided by Jesus for his reluctance to believe. One tradition places him later in India.

      • 43. Matthew - Apostle usually identified with Levi the mx collector. His was the first written gospel. He stressed Christ as the Messianic King.

      • 44. James the Less - probably a cousin of Jesus. First bishop of Jerusalem, martyred in his old age.

      • 45. Jude - Apostle and perhaps the same Jude who wrote the epistle to refute false teachers who denied Christ.

      • 46. Simon - Apostle known as the Zealot because he probably had belonged to a nationalist anti-Roman party.

      Recent Saints

      • 47. Dominic Savio - a modern Italian aspirant to the priesthood. He practiced the "little way" of St. Therese, died at 15.

      • 48. Maria Goretti - canonized in 1950. Maria chose death over unchastity and died from many knife wounds at age 12.

      Irish Saints

      • 49. Finbar - founded a monastery at Cork (Cobh) in the 6th century. His cathedral is at Cork city.

      • 50. Patrick - through prayer and personal austerity he evangelized the pagan Irish, firmly establishing the Church on the Island of Saints. Irish missionaries founded many cities of continental Europe. More recently Irish priests staffed many parishes of this archdiocese.

      • 51. Fachtna - 6th century Irish bishop who founded the famed monastic school of Ross in County Cork, which flourished for 300 years. Brendan was one of his teachers. When this window subject was chosen Fr. Fachtna Collins was assistant pastor.

      • 52. Luke - Syrian physician, companion of Paul, author of the Acts of the Apostles and of a gospel with its unique account of Christ's infancy.


      saints

      St. Paul and His Disciples

      • 53. Paul - the sword symbolizes Paul as a soldier of Christ. Excerpts from his letters are read at most masses. (See also window 35)

      • 54. Timothy - patron of the parish. A native of Lystra and the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother, he like Luke and Paul was a Roman citizen. He became an intimate disciple and companion of Paul and evangelized in Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica and elsewhere. The crown and palm symbolize his presumed martyrdom.

      Saints

      • 55. Our Lady of Guadalupe - patron of the Americas. In the year 1531 the Virgin appeared to a poor Mexican peon, Juan Diego, asking him to tell the bishop to erect a sanctuary at Guadalupe. When the doubting bishop asked for a sign, the Virgin told Juan Diego to pick roses from a barren hillside where none had grown before and to carry them in his large mantle to the bishop. Juan did this, and when he lowered his mantle the image of the Virgin was seen thereon.

      • 56. A Franciscan - this priest could represent any Franciscan saint or Fr. Junipero Serra, the native of Majorca who established the chain of California missions.

      • 57. Michael - the archangel with flaming sword. In Christian liturgy he is guardian of the Church; also the patron of policemen.

      • 58. Helen - or Helena, an innkeeper's daughter whose son Constantine became a Christian Roman emperor. About 326 A.D. while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land she found what many believe to have been the true cross. She built churches on the Mount of Olives and in Bethlehem.

      • 59. Vibiana - a young Roman virgin, pictured with the martyr's palm. Her relics repose in the cathedral of the archdiocese.

      • 60. Rose of Lima - a Dominican nun, born in 1586 in Peru. She was the first canonized saint of the new world.

      • 61. Jude - Apostle and patron of desperate cases.

      • 62. Cecilia - a Roman patrician who converted her young husband, who shared her martyrdom. She is the patron of musicians.

      • 63. Augustine - shown holding his famous "Confessionsl' A Roman born in North Africa, he abandoned a life of immorality and eventually became Bishop of Hippo. He laid the foundations for much of Catholic theology and social teaching.

      • 64. Frances Xavier Cabrini - although born in Italy in 1850, she became the first United States citizen saint. A woman of drive and business acumen as well as holiness, she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. She established hospitals in New York and Chicago and foundations in numerous cities, including Los Angeles, as well as in Central and South America.

      • 65. John N. Neumann - 1812-1860. A native of Bohemia, he arrived in the United States in 1836 with only one dollar and the clothes on his back. After ordination he ministered to German-speaking farmers near Buffalo, joined the Redemptorists of which he soon became superior, and in 1852 became the unwilling Bishop of Philadelphia. For a time he built churches at the rate of one a month and numerous schools. Three persons cured through his miracles were present at his 1977 canonization.

      • 66. Elizabeth Ann Seton (nee Bayley) - this fun-loving yet sometimes moody and always compassionate woman with five children was left a penniless widow, whose relations turned against her when she converted to Catholicism. She called herself Mother Goose whose cupboard was bare. Nothing daunted, she founded an order of nuns and established schools and hospitals. She was the first United States native-born saint.

      Rose Window - The Four Evangelists and the Holy Spirit

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