“From the Archives” — Saint Mary’s Stained-Glass Windows, Part 7
The large stained-glass windows in the Basilica of Saint Mary choir loft honor four French Jesuit North American martyrs. Their feast day is celebrated by the Church on October 19. The windows were designed and installed in 1948 by the New York ecclesiastical artist Francis Sturm.
Saint Isaac Jogues and Saint John de Brebeuf. At the left of the organ, these double-paneled windows were donated by Peter Hanratty and Own Carroll families. Peter Hanratty (1842-1908) was a porter for J. Broders and Company and lived at 314 North Pitt Street. Owen Carroll was listed in the 1880 census as a dairyman who lived at 718 Wolfe Street. At the time of his death on December 26, 1900, he was 83 years old and lived at 119 North Fayette Street. He was a native of County Lough, Ireland. His wife Bridget, also from County Lough, died in 1887.
Isaac Jogues, S.J. (1607–1646), traveled and worked among the Iroquois, Huron and other Native populations in North America. He was the first European to name Lake George, calling it Lac du Saint Sacrement (Lake of the Blessed Sacrament). In 1646, Father Jogues was martyred by the Mohawk at their village of Ossernenon, near the Mohawk River. Jean de Brébeuf, S.J. (1593–1649), arrived in Canada in 1625. He worked primarily with the Huron (Wyandot people). In 1649, Father Brébeuf and another missionary were captured when the Iroquois seized a Huron village. Together with Huron captives, the missionaries were ritually tortured and killed on March 16, 1649.
Saint Gabriel Lalemont and Saint Rene Goupil. At the right of the organ, this window was dedicated to the memory of two previous Saint Mary pastors, Monsignor Thomas Rankin and Father Louis J. Smet. The windows were added by Monsignor Edward Stephens when the church was redecorated in 1948.
Gabriel Lalemant (1610 –1649) began mission work in New France in 1646. Caught in warfare between the Huron and nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, he was killed by Mohawk warriors. René Goupil (1608-1642), was a lay missionary and first canonized Catholic martyr in North America. He was killed on the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, September 29, 1642, by a blow to the head with a tomahawk. He died uttering the Holy Name of Jesus. Father Jogues was there and gave Goupil absolution before he died, hearing Goupil as he professed religious vows as a Jesuit lay brother.
— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian
In 2020, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of our parish, we started “From the Archives” as a weekly feature online and in our bulletin to spotlight the history of Saint Mary’s. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the series in 2022. An archive of the features is located here.