Stained glass windows are a common sight in Catholic parishes – common enough that worshippers may not even give them a second thought. But they merit much more than a casual glance on a Sunday, because they are intended to bring us into a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith.
Although ancient peoples like the Romans had previously been creating stained glass for decorative use, the art form reached its height during the Middle Ages. Because much of the populace was illiterate, stained glass windows became a method of teaching everything the average Catholic layperson would need to know about salvation history, great saints, and their local church.
One modern example of this tradition can be found in Sacred Heart Cathedral in Gallup. The windows in the nave depict major events in the life of Christ, including his birth, baptism, and first miracle at Cana. Others illustrate the history of the Diocese of Gallup such as the arrival of the Franciscans in the Southwest.
But the Cathedral is not the only parish which utilizes stained glass to such great effect. St. Teresa Parish in Grants, NM, is another diocesan church with beautiful windows – and in fact, the most recent addition was installed in the summer of 2025.
The new window was commissioned several years prior by the Gutierrez family, who chose the Holy Family as the subject, and two artists constructed the final piece. Claudette Jaramillo, who painted the faces of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, first learned how to create stained glass after the windows of her husband’s home parish in Seboyeta, NM, fell into disrepair.
The window itself was then assembled and designed by Alicia Gallegos, a parishioner in Grants who learned to make stained glass through a college course.
“There’s a process of ‘okay, you’ve got the commission’,” Gallegos said. “So then it’s like, ‘okay, let me design’. That takes research. What do I want to put into it? How can I put that in?”
Going in, Gallegos knew that the subject of the window would be the Holy Family, and with assistance from Jaramillo, was able to settle on a design. Then came the assembly.
“You start cutting the glass and painting if you need to. The construction is just getting the lead around the piece of glass to fit in the area that you have designed for it. And then the last part is what we call solder – it’s the melted lead in the joints that hold the pieces together. And after that is cleaning and shining it up so it’s pretty.”
Like all artistic endeavors, the building of the window sometimes came with creative peaks and valleys. In those low moments, Jaramillo turned to prayer.
“Sometimes I have to tell the Lord, ‘Lord, I need a push’. Because for artists, sometimes you hit a wall. So, yeah, there was praying. And I’m pleased with how it turned out.”
Fr. Matthew Keller served as pastor of St. Teresa while the window was being constructed and installed. He pointed out examples of splendor in the design, especially due to the window’s placement in the sanctuary.
“In the afternoons the western sun comes through where the star of Bethlehem is, and shines into the sanctuary. Our Lord was laid in a manger in Bethlehem, right? And Bethlehem means ‘House of Bread’. [The window is] in the sanctuary where we have the tabernacle. To me, that’s just very meaningful.”
The Mass As the Highest Form of Art
For Fr. Keller, beauty and art in sacred spaces is not simply extraneous decoration, but a necessity.
“The sanctuary of the church is our depiction of Heaven on earth. It’s supposed to be the heavenly temple because Jesus himself is present there, right? So it should seem otherworldly…it should feel like you’re going into the Holy of Holies in God’s presence. And so there should be a real elevated atmosphere of beauty there that’s different than ordinary things, or even secular art.”
Everything from the vessels used on the altar to the vestments of the priest and deacon should be beautiful in order to move humans to contemplate the divine, he added. This is why Jaramillo and Gallegos were not just given carte blanche to create the stained glass window, but like all liturgical endeavors, cooperated with the parish and the sponsors to create the final piece.
The window, like the church, the vessels, the music, and the vestments, are all meant to point to the presence of God at Mass, Fr. Keller explained. He agrees with the belief of John Senior, an influential Catholic professor and cultural critic, that human endeavors find their greatest fulfillment in the Mass.
“The reason that there’s architecture is so that we can have churches. The reason there is printing is so that we can have books for [prayer]. The mass is the highest point of all human art and culture. And so when we don’t do it well, it’s a waste of art…because it’s the greatest thing that we have on earth, the greatest thing that connects us to Heaven. It’s the closest thing to Heaven on earth.”