Our
Lady, queen of All Saints
Designed and made with much love and prayer by
Mary & Caroline Mullins, Valley Rose Designer Glass Studio
for Our Lady and the parish family of All Saints Catholic Church, Twain Harte
in collaboration with Fr. John Fitzgerald, Pastor of All Saints Catholic Church
Our Lady is presented in the absolute center of the window, dressed as a queen in a white robe with rose gold and blue accents on her garments. Her Immaculate Heart, pierced by a sword and burning with love, is also visible. The garland of roses surrounding her Immaculate Heart is shown in crushed glass. On her head, a crown of gold, with central band in crushed glass and a nimbus halo represent her role as Queen of Heaven. Her face is represented in the style of the Eastern Church icons with very large eyes that search the soul and small, delicate mouth and nose. Her hands are open with the palms up, a prayerful gesture that also seeks to reach out to us, her children. At her feet are wild periwinkles which grow in the Sierra’s. The flowers are purple and have five petals. The various purple hues represent the various little and large sufferings and trials that each of us encounter in life. The five petals represent the five wounds that Christ received on the Cross and also represent the daily crosses that each one of us has to carry.
The colors around Our Lady begin in deep, dark blue, graduating to sky blue and then to blue green. These colors represent heaven and earth and acknowledge God’s gift to us of Our Lady as Our Heavenly Mother, loving model of true discipleship and our intercessor.
Surrounding Our Lady is a gold quatrefoil, or body halo; another symbol of her sanctity. The quatrefoil is surrounded by a large white circle, a symbol of God’s never ending love for us. The quarter sections between the quatrefoil and the circle represent the four corners of the Earth while the clear mosaic crystals in each section represent the light that comes to us from the Word of God in the four Gospels.
Radiating out from the white circle are arms which represent the Cross. We have used red, white and crystal in the arms of the cross, in the circle and the sections surrounding the gold quatrefoil to represent God’s Divine Mercy and all prevailing love for us.
The arms of the cross divide the sky into four sections in which we have four symbols that pertain directly to Our Lady.
One of the best known litanies
honoring Our Lady is the Litany of Loreto. In this litany, she is honored under
the titles of the Mystical Rose, the Arc of the Covenant and the Morning
Star. The image of an M surmounted by a Cross is found on the back of the
Miraculous Medal. This medal was commissioned by Our Lady during a series of
visions to St. Catherine Labore, a Daughter of Charity, in
The left and right hand side
panels show the mountains and trees surrounding the town of
The borders of the windows are edged in crystal bevels and a crystal, pine needle texture. This clarity allows the outside to come in, a representation that God has blessed us in every thing and is with us in everything. The deep purple border represents both the royalty of Christ and what he suffered for our salvation. It is also a reminder that he never leaves us alone, that our sufferings, if endured with love and fidelity to Christ will one day bring us into the company of all saints.
Mary Mullins
Valley Rose Designer Glass Studio
April 2007
Little Technical Bits and Pieces
16.7 square feet of glass
45 colors
1174 individual pieces
638 feet of antique style lead