Holy Spirit Parish
Rare Jewels From The Harry Clarke Studios
The Sacred Heart Window
The window the Sacred Heart shows Christ in ruby red, revealing to the humble and prayerful his unconditional compassionate love for humanity. The quotation in Latin is from St. John's Gospel: "Having loved his own he loved them to the end" (John13:1-2)
Overview
In all there are 32 stained glass windows plus two opus sextile panels. This figure includes the four symbol windows above the sanctuary, also made by Harry Clarke Studios.
The majority of the windows were designed by Mr. Willie Dowling (of Harry Clarke Studios). The two exceptions are St. John the Evangelist by the Early Studios and St. Columcille by Mr. Hubert McGolderick of the Túr Gloine Studio.
Harry Clarke - historical context
His father Joshua Clarke came from Leeds in 1877 as a rep. for an ecclesiastical supplier. Eventually Joshua Clarke and sons became established as stained glass and church furnishing providers. When Joshua died in 1921 his sons Harry and Walter took over the business. Harry had already established a significant reputation for both his stained glass and illustration work. Due to deteriorating health he employed two new artists Richard King and William Dowling. These artists learned to work in the Clarke style under his direct supervision. Harry Clarke died in Switzerland in 1931. We are very fortunate that the majority of the windows in our collection are the work of Willie Dowling, a worthy protégé of his master, Harry Clarke.
Some of the most impressive features in Kimmage Manor parish church are the stained glass windows. Here we are reminded of the criteria used for choosing a particular image or scene. The obvious subjects adopted are the mysteries of faith, the incarnation. Jesus Christ or aspects of his life, The Blades Virgin, St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, the apostles, the patron saints of the Congregation, Saints Peter and Paul, Peter Clavier, Francis Xavier, St.Thérèse of Liseux patroness of the missions), For Ireland, the patron saints were Patrick, Brigíd, and Columcille. St. Thomas Aquinas is the patron saint of students and colleges. These are now patrons of the parish. View more examples (just a sample selection) of the stained glass panels in Kimmage Manor Church, here in the Stained Glass Gallery A self-guided tour leaflet (containing map and commentary) is available for those who wish to visit the church and see the panels in situ.
Saint Teresa of Avila
One of the great woman saints, Teresa was born in Avila, Spain on March 28th 1515. She became a Carmelite nun in 1536. Despite many years of ill-health, she founded 17 monasteries for nuns throughout Spain. much loved by writers of spirituality. She was a most sensible woman, a great mystic, spiritual writer and reformer of the Carmalites, both men and women. She holds in her hand one of her books The Interior Castle. One of her most famous statements was "May God protect us from gloomy saints". "It is love alone that gives worth to all things". As well as The Interior Castle, she has left us her autobiography along with many letters. Teresa is regarded as one of the foremost writers in relation to mental prayer and her position among writers concerning mystical theology as unique. She was made a doctor of the church in 1972. We celebrated her feast day on October 15th.
