Stained Glass at Shrine of St Patrick in Missouri
Speaking of photographs, some of the phots I have enjoyed the most in the last several months are those that Pete Maher posted of the stained glass windows of The Shrine of St. Patrick, located in St. Patrick, Missouri.
Pete Maher is of course the man behind the Midwest Irish Focus, and Pete shares this background to the stained glass windows with us:
All of these windows were created by a(n) unknown artist(s) with the Dublin (Ireland) Stained Glass Company when the shrine was built in 1958 (at a cost of a quarter million dollars). The photos were taken during a visit for a story that appeared in our March issue.
The photos are on MySpace and I imagine you probably have to have a MySpace account to view them. If so, just go ahead and take the few seconds to sign up - it’s worth in the long run, in fact it’s worth it just for this.
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
For those art lovers out there, I’ve been told the windows incorporate elements of the Book of Kells in them. Most include what is referred to as the “mystical gaze” where the subject seems to be looking right at you no matter what angle to look upon the portrait from.
And I will tell you, when you are surrounded by 30-odd saints as you stand in the Shrine, all of whom see to be staring at you and you alone, you begin to understand the origins of Irish Catholic guilt.