St. Martin Of Tours Trivia
Our Stained-glass Masterpieces
April 2007
By: Mary Jo Niklas Dangel
The magnificent stained-glass windows in St. Martin of Tours church are well recognized as artistic masterpieces. For a breathtaking experience, spend some time inside church reflecting on these inspirational works of art. Watch them dazzle as they take turns being highlighted by the sun. For a completely different experience, gawk at them from the outside when it’s dark and the lights are on inside the church.
The Artists
According to parish records, the present church was dedicated in 1923. A copy of the purchase order for the two large transept windows was obtained in 2004 from Oidtmann, the company in Linnich, Germany, that made the windows (www.glasmalerei-oidtmann.de. The purchase order, translated from German, is dated March 26, 1925, addressed to the pastor, Father Henry J. Schuer.
The translation says, “an order for the rest of the windows for this church depends on quality and workmanship of these two windows.” Price per window was $3,500, including crating and tax. Thus, it sounds as if the stained-glass windows were added over a period of time, after the church was built.
Rumor has it that in the 1930s, when the windows in both transepts were installed, the workers did not return to Nazi Germany.
Oidtmann describes itself as “the oldest stained-glass workshop in Germany,” founded in 1857 by Heinrich Oidtmann, M.D. in Linnich/Rheinland. “Our family business has been involved with the manufacture, care and research of artistic glazing for over five generations.” Michigan State University Museum’s website (http://museum.msu.edu/museum/msgc/oct04.html) features another example of one of Oidtmann’s stained-glass windows from St. Mary’s Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Check it out to compare the style to the windows in Cheviot.
Helene Weis, who works at Willet Stained Glass Company in Philadelphia, wrote in 2004 that she has been to the Oidtmann Studio, which was rebuilt after it was destroyed during World War II. Dr. Oidtmann “wrote six publications on the history of colored glass, made and exported products, founded branch studios in Brussels in 1885 and Berlin in 1896,” she writes. “He had a list of 100 employees doing a world-wide export business manufacturing church windows.”
Regarding the craft, “Making stained-glass windows has changed very little since the medieval age,” she writes. “The glass is colored when molten in the pot, blown or rolled flat, cut in pieces which have the details like the faces and lettering painted and fired, joined with strips of lead into sections, and supported by frames.”
Weis corrects a misinterpretation of a photo sent to her of one of the windows at St. Martin, saying it “illustrates Christ raising the son of a widow (not Jairus’ daughter) Luke 7: 11-17….The widow is the figure on the right; the stone arch is the gate of the city—it is an exterior scene.”
The Windows
In the 1925 purchase order, Oidtmann describes “the two transept windows to be fabricated as follows:
No. 10: Te Deum: On top in the center the trinity. At both sides angels. Left of them the prophets David and Moses. On the right side martyrs. Beneath kneeling in front of the font Ambrosius and Augustinus. Left and right of them Apostles. In the left outermost column the Church: the Pope, Apostles, Monks. On the right side the world: King, woman, laborer. In the base area the Savior, victoriously risen from the dead. Right and left, the angels ringing in the Te Deum. In the extreme left area, the innocent children: in the right the ones in purgatory waiting for their salvation. In the upper arch seraphic angels. The entire picture framed in a rich Romanesque style with the appropriate verses.
No. 9: In the same architectural framing, also with seraphic angels, only with a different text. The opposite window shows in the top center the heart of Jesus on clouds surrounded by mother of God and the holy John. In the outer column left the special adoration of the heart of Jesus by the holy female. On the right side the holy male. Beneath this in all five pictures continuously the Corpus Christi procession. In the base areas finally, the pope and the five continents of the world worshipping the altar sacraments.”
Unfortunately, we do not have photos that show the church before and during the installation of these windows. If anyone has historic photos of the parish that they would like to donate or loan (to be scanned and used by the parish), we would appreciate receiving them.
Thanks to parishioner Angelo Mancini, whose curiosity and research provided information about these treasured artworks, and to Mr. Armutat for translating the Oidtmann purchase order.
December 2006:
by: Carol DeArmond
Question: Did you ever notice the beautiful stained glass oriel (bay) window above the choir loft? There are three people depicted in that window. who are they?
Answer: St. Cecilia is the female in the middle. She is the patroness of church music. To her left is St. Gregory the Great (Pope Gregory I). He is credited with authoring many of the unaccompanied sacred songs known as Gregorian Chants. To the right of St. Cecelia is King David. He was also a musician and he wrote many of the Psalms. Psalms were sung, chanted and played on musical instruments.
November 2006:
by: Carol DeArmond
Question: What do the Latin words mean that are on the metal grill that encircles the Altar beginning with Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus?
Answer: The English translation is: Holy Holy Holy, Lord God of power and might. In the center (behind the Altar) is the inscription “IHS”, which is roughly translated to “Jesus, Savior of Humanity”. The letters aren’t English at all, but Greek. In fact, they are the first three letters of Jesus’ name in Greek: iota-eta-sigma (capital eta in Greek looks like the English H). This has been a common abbreviation for Jesus throughout Church history.