Stained Glass Tour
  - Joseph the Patriarch
  - St. Therese of Liseux
  - St. Claire of Assisi
  - St. Francis of Assisi
  - St. Paul of Tarsus
  - Bl. Pedro Calungsod
  - St. Maria Goretti
  - Bl. Miguel Pro
  - St. Maximilian Kolbe
  - St. Gianna Molla
  - Bl. Teresa of Calcutta
  - Ven. John Paul II, Pope
  - St. John Vianney
  - Christ the King with St. Michael
the Archangel
 - Ven. Fr. Michael McGivney

The stained glass in the main section of St. Joseph's Church that is featured in this section was designed and created by parishioner Mary Mullins and all images are subject to copyright, 2007-2010, Valley Rose Designer Glass.  Descriptive text copyright Mary Mullins, 2007-2010.
You may contact them by calling (209) 238-3236.

St. John Mary Vianney was born on May 8, 1786.  He was the third child of poor but devout parents, Mathieu and Marie Vianney.  In 1790, the French Revolution broke out and the horrible specter of violence and murder cast a dark shadow on young John Vianney’s childhood.  Many priests and faithful Catholics met their death at the guillotine.  Masses had to be celebrated in secret as priests and their flocks were forced underground.

The Revolution ended in 1802 but a vast wasteland of spiritual destruction remained.  Some people abandoned their faith through fear but many more were truly ignorant of God and the faith due to the lack of priests to care for them, teach them and celebrate the Sacraments with them.

After struggling with his studies in the seminary John Vianney was ordained on August 13, 1815 and was sent to a tiny little village called Ars.  It was a poor place made even poorer by the behavior of the inhabitants; very few attended Mass and Sunday was often spent in drunkenness and other sinful behavior. Fr. Vianney brought his little flock back to God with his tenderness, kindness and the message of Jesus’ love for them. 

As the new “Curé d’Ars” set about his work, people looking for him often found him on his knees, deep in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.  He preached the Gospel with simplicity and heartfelt conviction. He prayed, fasted and did penance on behalf of his flock—and he brought them the gift of forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Fr. Vianney had a supernatural gift for reading the hearts of those who came to his confessional. He listened to people, comforted them and prompted many to turn away from sin and back to God. 

As the joy God’s forgiveness grew in his penitents, so did the lines before his confessional.  Crowds of people, not only peasants, but influential folk, priests and bishops came to Ars to kneel at Fr. Vianney’s confessional.  And so, this simple, childlike man, blessed with extraordinary patience, sacrificed even more by remaining in the confessional up to 16 hours a day. He knew that God was working through him to convert souls and he knew that as a priest, he was to be a living image of Jesus.

Fr. John Vianney used to say,
     “If I were to meet a priest and an angel, I would greet the priest first and then the angel… If there were no priest, the passion and death of Jesus would serve no purpose. What use  is a treasure chest full of gold if there is no one who can unlock it?  The priest has the key to the treasure of Heaven.”

Fr. John Mary Vianney died on August 4, 1859 and was canonized May 31, 1925.  On February 12, 1984, in his apostolic exhortation Reconciliation and Penance, Pope John Paul II referred to St. John Vianney as one of the “extra-ordinary apostle of the confessional.” 

In this window
We find St. John Vianney in the church, sitting in his confessional, smiling, patiently waiting for us. His breviary rests on his lap and he holds the Rosary in his left hand as he prays to Our Blessed Mother. His right hand is raised in welcome and blessing. 

An image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is on the back wall of the confessional, right over his head.  The image of Our Lady’s heart represents St. John Vianney’s deep love for Mary, his gift of being able to read the hearts of those seeking to return to God and the fact that his human heart remained uncorrupted even after death. St. John Vianney’s heart will be here at St. Joseph’s this coming July.

On either side of the Immaculate Heart are images of the fleur de Lys. This commonly symbolizes France but is also known as the “Madonna Lily” honoring Our Lady and the Most Holy Trinity. On the right wall of the confessional, we see the grille through which the penitents speak and on the left we see a long trailing vine representing us as branches of the true vine who is Jesus Christ.

Above St. John Vianney’s confessional are three “windows within a window”. The two arched windows represent gifts of the Priesthood:  the “keys of Heaven” superimposed over the priestly stole and cross and the sacred Host suspended over the priest’s chalice.  In between the windows is a small image of a white dove, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. The Spirit hovers over St. John Vianney to illustrate that he was particularly open to the gifts of the Spirit and to remind each of us that we are to be temples of the Holy Spirit.

The round “window within a window” at the top of the panel honors Our Blessed Mother.  True rose windows have a central image and spokes radiating out from that image.  In this rose window, the central image is the Cross to represent our Lord Jesus.  Mary, the Mystical Rose, was the Ark of the New Covenant, the sinless virgin who God chose to be the Mother of the Savior.  Twelve crystal stars encircle the central cross; these represent the twelve stars in Mary’s heavenly crown as described in the Book of Revelation.