Window of Our Lady from former Trappist monastery installed at Holy Family Parish

IC photo/Marie Mischel

+ Enlarge

Bishop Oscar A. Solis blesses the stained glass window depicting Our Lady of Prompt Succor at Holy Family Parish, which also was blessed by Father William Wheaton, pastor, and Trappist Fathers David Altman and Leander Dosch, who were monks at the Abbey of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, which originally housed the window.

Linda Petersen

OGDEN — An image of Our Lady of Prompt Succor now shines forth over a major road into Ogden. A stained glass window of the image that originally was at the Trappist monastery in Huntsville has been installed inside Holy Family Catholic Church and is visible to motorists traveling westbound on Highway 89 up the hill on which the church sits.

The Abbey of the Most Holy Trinity acquired the window, which is 9 feet wide by 21 feet tall, in 1960. It was installed behind the altar after a strong east wind shattered the original plain glass window.

According to Trappist Fathers David Altman and Patrick Boyle, who lived at the monastery, the plain glass window lacked a support or framework, so one day in 1953, the wind blew the window onto the church floor. A priest who was celebrating Mass at the time was protected from the flying glass by a statue, which received several lacerations, but the priest was unharmed.

The monks boarded up the window. It remained that way until 1960, when the abbot decided to replace it. The monastery contracted with George Merrill & Associates of Los Angeles to design and build a stained glass window. The image of Our Lady of Prompt Succor was the result.

“That window was very popular; people were very impressed with it,” Fr. Patrick said.

When the monastery closed in 2017, the property was acquired by Bill White, who expressed concern that the window could be vandalized, Fr. Patrick said. White donated the window to the parish. First, however, it underwent about 200 hours of cleaning and restoration at the hands of Jenkyn Powell, a stained glass artist with more than 50 years experience.

Powell, a St. Joseph the Worker parishioner, also oversaw the installation of the window. The initial plan was to put the window into one of the church’s walls, but when that was cost-prohibitive they chose to mount it behind the altar, facing the street rather than the congregation. The church’s original contractor, Kelton Quinn, re-constructed the wall behind the altar to house the window and a light box for LED lighting. The lighting continually illuminates the window, which is visible from the outside.  

Bishop Oscar A. Solis blessed the window during a May 19 Mass at which Trappist Fathers David Altman and Leander Dosch were present. Father William Wheaton, the parish pastor, concelebrated the Mass. Deacon Doug Smith was Deacon of the Mass; Deacon John Kranz was Master of Ceremonies.

During the Rite of Dedication, Bishop Solis asked for God’s blessing on the stained glass window and added in part, “Let us pray for God’s blessing on this stained glass window of Our Lady of Prompt Succor from the monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Huntsville.

“Almighty and eternal God, in the beginning you made us in your own image and, through your Son, made us one with you.

“We give thanks for this window dedicated to Our Lady of Prompt Succor, which has been fashioned to your honor and glory.

“May we strive to imitate Mary’s fiat – her yes to God – in our own lives and continue to seek her motherly intercession to aid us in our earthly pilgrimage.

“May all who venerate this image see the glory of the Word made flesh who made his home in us.”

The bishop then led the congregation in reciting the “Hail Mary.”

After blessing the window, Bishop Solis came back in front of the congregation and said, “My dear friends, it’s beautiful!”

The bishop also said he was honored to bless the window in part because his first parish as a pastor in Louisiana was Our Lady of Prompt Succor in Golden Meadow. “All my life Our Blessed Mother has guided me and taken care of me.”

In his comments at the end of Mass, Fr. Wheaton thanked all who had contributed to the project, saying it had been much more complex than originally envisioned, but that the results were spectacular.

The sight is most spectacular at night, “when you see that image of the Blessed Virgin Mary shining out from the window. You can see it from half a mile away,” he said, adding that he has seen people stop alongside the road to look at the window.