Chapel of the Immaculate Conception

Seton Hall University

 

The Stained Glass Windows

The stained glass windows of the Chapel have been a source of joy and pleasure for generations of Seton Hall students, faculty and staff. Their beauty colors the interior of the Chapel with the entire spectrum of the rainbow. Their figures focus the mind and heart on the mysteries of the Catholic faith.

 

In the following pages I will tell their story. It is a story that remains incomplete. Available records do not give exact details concerning the makers or the donors. The windows are from different times and reflect the artistic style of their time, the piety of their time, and the economy of their time.

 

We will describe the style and the art of each window in detail. For the windows that depict a biblical scene, we will discuss the meaning of the particular scriptural texts from which it is drawn. For the windows that depict saints, we will provide a short life of the saint. For other windows we will explain the significance of the design and its relation to Seton Hall.

 

Several years ago, Rev. Lawrence Frizzell, Ph.D., Professor of Jewish-Christian Studies, wrote a description of the Chapel that included commentary on many of the windows. I rely heavily on Father Frizzell's work, in particular for the scriptural analysis of the windows.