Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary, the virgin mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, was the daughter of Anne and Joachim of Nazareth. Both of her parents were visited on separate occasions by an angel who told of her coming birth; he instructed them to take Mary to the temple in Jerusalem to be raised in strict chastity and devout study, in preparation for her role as the mother of the messiah. When it came time for a husband to be chosen for Mary, the voice of the Lord directed all suitors to be brought to the temple and their staffs placed on the altar. The Lord would choose the man by making a flower grow from the staff of the right man, and the Lord in the form of a dove would alight on the staff. Although Joseph was an older man who did not at first participate in the competition for Mary?s hand, the Lord found Joseph in the crowd an directed him to present his staff, and the holy dove alighted on it.

Shortly after her betrothal to Joseph, of the house of David in Galilee, the angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her she would bear a son conceived by the Holy Spirit, and she spoke her famous words, "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord, for I am not worthy of the name of Lady; let it be to me according to thy word."

Mary figures in many stories told in the gospels and the book of Acts, notably at the wedding at Cana where Jesus changed water to wine. John says she was present at the crucifixion of Christ. Historical record of Mary?s life after the crucifixion is scant; the early church tradition is that she lived out her life in Jerusalem and was buried there. Others claim she died and was buried in Ephesus.

Although Mary has always been honored and venerated as the mother of the Christ, her worship truly flowered in the middle ages. There are many feast days associated with Mary, but the Roman church recognizes January 1st as the main Marian feast day. May 31 is devoted to the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth; the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel is celebrated on March 25. Pope Pius XII dedicated her as the saint of the entire human race in 1944.

In her window, The Blessed Virgin is surrounded with lilies, both her own symbol and a symbol of purity. Her traditional color is blue, symbolizing Mary as the Queen of Heaven. Above her banner are a rose on the left and a lily on the right, symbols of love and purity. The seven-starred crown at the lower left is a traditional symbol of the Queen of Heaven.

This window is located in the chapel, the second window from the altar. It was made in 1928 by the James Powell & Sons Whitefriars studios in England.