Stained glass shines light on 50th anniversary

Gazing out from Saint Charles Borromeo’s altar, Deacon Bill Gorden’s attention was focused on the stained-glass window of the Last Supper. He soon realized he couldn’t spot the 12th apostle in the complex scene. Puzzled, he returned the following day to study the window. The more Deacon Gorden studied the windows in the church, the more curious he became. He discovered the windows were designed and created by renowned French artist Gabriel Loire, whose family still runs the Loire Studio in Chartres, France.
 
All of Saint Charles’s stained-glass windows are designed by Loire, which led Deacon Gorden back to the archdiocesan archives.
 
“I discovered it was the 50^th anniversary of the dedication of the Saint Charles Church. The date on the stained glass was 1967, but the church was dedicated on Sept. 29, 1968, and so it was decided at this year’s annual feast of Saint Charles Borromeo on Nov. 3.”
 
The parish created a poster to commemorate the anniversary. On the bottom of the poster it says “50 ^th anniversary of the dedication of Saint Charles’ Last Supper.” The original art was copied with the signatures of the architect, the man who completed the tile work inside the church and then Gabriel Loire. 
 
Additionally, the anniversary will include a lecture, “The Stained Glass of Gabriel Loire: Saint Charles Borromeo, Japan, the World.” It will be in the Saint Charles Beckman Hall on Nov. 3 from 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Deacon Gorden and Ray and Sharon Macalister, who recently traveled to Japan and experienced the four-story building featuring Loire’s work, will speak.
 
Following the lecture, there will be a walk around Saint Charles to experience Loire’s artwork firsthand. There are four windows – two large windows, The Baptism of Jesus and The Last Supper, one on the north side and one of the south side. There also are four long, narrow windows. Two focus on Advent and two focus on Holy Week.
 
The church will be using those images for bookmarks featuring the stained glass on the front and the prayer of Saint Charles in both English and Spanish, and the prayer for Blessed Stanley Rother, again in both Spanish and English.
 
 Following the Nov. 3 Mass at 5 p.m., the church will celebrate Saint Charles Borromeo’s Feast Day from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. with potluck dinner and the presentation of the Humilitas Award, which honors someone for their service to the parish. Saint Charles is located at 5024 N. Grove Ave. in Oklahoma City.
 
Judy Hilovsky is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.