TRUMBULL—When Holy Rosary Church in Bridgeport closed its doors in 2012, many items not immediately distributed to other parishes were moved into storage at the diocese, their future use unknown. Several months ago, however, half a dozen stained glass windows and a marble baptismal font were given new life and a new home a few miles north at Christ the King Parish, where many former parishioners from Holy Rosary now worship.
“Any stained glass window is appreciated as it beautifies a space, but these are so extra special,” said Father Richard Gemza, pastor at Christ the King, a church which previously had no stained glass. “They have a history and a quality you can’t find anymore. Coming from Holy Rosary, their journey continues with us.”
Situated to the left and right of the altar, the windows, now close to a century old, depict images of the saints, including St. Anthony of Padua holding a lily and St. Therese of Lisieux with red and white roses. Though the installation occurred just before the new year, a special blessing was bestowed by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano when he celebrated Mass on Sunday, February 5.
Reflecting on the morning’s Gospel, the bishop reminded the congregation of the importance of being a light in the darkness and how, when light shines through the images on stained glass, “they are depicting what discipleship really means.”
“We are like those windows. If they are dirty and blotted, they can’t achieve what they are intended to do – just like you and me,” the bishop continued. “When we see the windows in the dark, we see only the outline for they exist to serve the light. Today, you are the light of the world.”
As the bishop blessed each of the six windows with the winter sunlight shining through, many of the parishioners at Mass remembered when those same windows added beauty to Holy Rosary.
For Esther Riccio and Sheri Bartoli, who were both married at the former Bridgeport church, this adds as much to Christ the King as it does to their own faith journey.
“It means everything to me,” said Bartoli, who was also baptized in the font that now sits on the altar at Christ the King. “I love the community here, and now with this magnificent stained glass, it has even more of a church feeling.”
Because of the age and fragility of the windows, great attention was taken as they were cleaned, restored, and readied for installation. Sviatoslav Makarenko, the architect who supervised the project, said all pieces were carefully dismantled before he could make the panels, mix the pigments, and follow the procedures of restoring such timeless materials that date from thousands of years ago.
“There’s no machine or software program that can substitute for that in elements of church art. There’s no technology—just labor and love,” Makarenko said. “We’re very respectful of the tradition and the pieces. The physical aspect is very valuable, of course. Then you have the spiritual aspect of it which makes it even more valuable.”
Once restored, the windows were brought from Makarenko’s studio to Trumbull, where they were installed in new frames in the church, a procedure which Father Gemza said took only a few hours. He is grateful for the generous donations of individual parishioners, groups within the parish, and the Knights of Columbus, which enabled Christ the King to obtain both the windows and baptismal font.
Joe Montanaro, the parish council chairperson and a member of the Knights of Columbus, helped transport the font with other Knights. This experience, he said, was very personal and nostalgic for him, as he and all four of his children were baptized within that same font at Holy Rosary.
“It’s overwhelming,” he said. “This is a beautiful addition to our church here, and our parish is so enthusiastic.”
These sacred objects, linking past and present, tell the story of two parishes, follow generations of families, and connect the faithful in a unique way. One parish is remembered in another, with beauty, history, and sanctity to be enjoyed for generations of families to come.
By Emily Clark
