Posted on 03/29/2006 11:14:00 AM PST by Cheverus
WEYMOUTH - More than two dozen stained glass windows removed from Catholic churches that are closing throughout Greater Boston will be installed in the new Sacred Heart Church in Weymouth when it is rebuilt next year. Eleven of them will come from Sacred Heart in Lawrence, which will soon be low-income housing.
‘‘We’re very excited - the windows will be spectacular,’’ the Rev. Harry Kaufman of Sacred Heart in Weymouth said yesterday.
The 130-year-old Weymouth Landing landmark was destroyed by fire in June. The church hopes to break ground on the new building in the fall, with construction scheduled to last 13 to 15 months. The design will be traditional and similar to that of the old Sacred Heart Church, and the building will be at the same site.
A ceremonial groundbreaking with Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, is scheduled for Sept. 8.
This week and next, 11 windows, in 300 sections of glass, are being removed from Sacred Heart Church in Lawrence, which was sold and is being converted for low-income housing.
The Rev. Kaufman said that during the past year, Catholic churches have been invited by the archdiocese to visit the churches that are closing to see if they might use any of the windows or other contents, such as pews or sacred objects.
‘‘We were invited to pick from the churches that are closing,’’ he said. ‘‘We are thrilled.’’
St. Michael’s Church in Avon recently replaced 12 frosted white windows with stained glass windows removed from St. Joseph’s Church in Salem.
The Rev. Louis Palmieri, pastor of St. Michael’s, said Cardinal O’Malley is scheduled to bless the new windows at the church at 7 p.m. Friday.
‘‘The whole church has been transformed by the stained glass - the blues and the light violet colors are magnificent,’’ the Rev. Palmieri said.
St. Michael’s took a complete set from the Salem church; six were installed before Christmas and the other six at the end of January.
Two large windows from Sacred Heart in Lawrence will be installed in Sacred Heart in Weymouth. They depict the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. There are also three sets of smaller triple lancet windows from Lawrence.
The windows will be cleaned and restored by the Lyn Hovey Studio in Hyde Park, which specializes in architectural stained glass.
During the past year, a committee from Sacred Heart parish has visited other churches in Lowell and Jamaica Plain that have closed or are closing. The Weymouth church has selected nearly a dozen windows from two churches in Lowell - St. Peter’s and St. Joseph’s - and 10 windows from Blessed Sacrament Church in Jamaica Plain.
In the restoration process, the windows are ‘‘unzipped’’ - the lead framing is removed - and the stained glass sections are cleaned, mended and replaced with matching glass if necessary. They are then reset or leaded, according to Erin Smith, manger of Lyn Hovey Studio, which has also restored windows for the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston.
According to the archdiocese, the windows that are not taken by other churches will be stored so that other Catholic churches might one day use them.
Last year, St. Peter’s Church in downtown Plymouth received a gift of stained glass windows from a closed Norwood church. also named St. Peter’s, that was being converted to condominiums.
Valued at $30,000, the window portrays St. Peter kneeling at the foot of a Jesus.
Sue Scheible may be reached at sscheible@ledger.com .
Copyright 2006 The Patriot Ledger Transmitted Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Another good article on the subject:
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/14188949.htm
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