Windows with a view of heaven

The windows have hues and life-size figures in different scenes only a skilled artisan listening to a calling can create. Radiant winged angels costumed in robes of brilliant colors bearing instruments. A Christ holding out his hand in healing. Mary hearing the announcement of her life—one that would change hers and mankind. All the halos are different; if you look closely, many figures have little bursting stars within folds of clothing.

You can see these recently acquired panels at Bellport’s Mary Immaculate Church, in the original little church and the larger one next door, as well as other liturgical additions. The windows were made by Zettler Studios in Munich, Germany, founded in 1870.  An Open House is scheduled for Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

But how the windows got to Mary Immaculate is a story of faith in itself. The church, an Isaac Greene design, constructed in 1905, while maintained over the years, required necessary upgrades, said pastor, Fr. William Hanson.

“There were many things we needed, including a parking lot. In this building, we needed new frames for the windows; they were leaking like a sieve,” he said, standing in the little church vestibule. “So, we started the process in 2021 with a capital campaign; we got memorials and raised over $1 million.

The decorative panels in the large church were designed by former resident Brother Gerard Cormier, for example, but were faded and falling out.

The windows were the most recent completion. Statues custom made for the former Catholic Chapel at JFK Airport were more easily acquired.

But how did the glorious stained-glass creations get to Bellport?

Fifty-year-plus parishioner Jim Fuchs found a New York Times article. “There was a Patrimony Warehouse for the Diocese of New York City,” he said of the write-up.

The article described the warehouse, located in Staten Island on the grounds of Mount Loretto, as a 17,000-square-foot building with all sorts of artifacts the Archdiocese of New York has obtained from deconstructed churches. So, among the nativity sets, altars, statues and a million other religious articles were—you guessed it—stained-glass windows.

Fr. Hanson went with Fuchs.

“The first day we went in, John Amatrudo [director of Liturgical Patrimony] pulled out an album of those windows and said, ‘I have just the windows for you,’” said Fr. Hanson.

(What are the chances?)

The windows were from two churches. St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, on Bathgate Avenue in the Bronx, was one. “The church was torn down probably before 1890,” Fuchs said. St. Thomas the Apostle in Harlem was the other. (No longer a church since 2003, its neo-Gothic façade is restored and the renovated interior is being used as a concert and art space.)

Twenty-one windows were obtained altogether and placed in both Mary Immaculate churches. 

The large church has five panels in the upstairs meeting room with eight angels and Mary Immaculate on the outside wall. The plain glass entry windows there will be replaced by larger ones so parishioners can see them downstairs.

“I call it heaven because I get to see them,” said Fr. Hanson, while he’s facing them saying the Mass.

It seemed there was a mysterious guidance during the selection process.

“Yes,” said Fr. Hanson. “There has definitely  been a guiding hand throughout the whole project.”

Also, the windows fit Mary Immaculate’s dimensions perfectly.

There was a price the diocese had in mind, said Fr. Hanson.  “It was reasonable.”

Zettler Studios in Munich, Germany, were the innovative Tiffany Studio of their era.  Franz Xaver Zettler worked for his father-in-law Joseph Mayer’s religious art firm, then set up his own studio in 1870. His work was awarded the title  “Royal Bavarian Art Institute for Stained Glass” by King Ludwig II, who became a patron. The firm exported windows across Europe, North America, Canada, South America, Australia, and New Zealand and ultimately merged with its rival, Mayer & Co., in 1939, when Mayer & Co. bought the establishment.

The stained-glass artists had developed the so-called “Munich style” of expert painting on relatively large glass panels

“One guy did the hands, someone did the halos, someone did the wings,” said Fuchs. “They had 500 people working for them before World War II.” Franz Mayer of Munich, Glass Design and Mosaic, is still in business.

“This is the Christmas card we’re sending out,” said Fr. Hanson, showing the five stained-glass windows of the Immaculate Conception with angels, surely an uplifting sight.