St. Patrick’s stained glass shines in Bisbee after main restoration

BISBEE, Ariz. (KGUN) – For greater than a century the stained glass home windows of St. Patrick’s Church in Bisbee have been telling a narrative – the biblical story of Jesus.

Due to a much-needed restoration challenge, the stained glass home windows are shining like model new.

“It is incredible,” mentioned Deccan Tony Underwood, pastoral administrator for St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. “You’ll be able to’t assist however be moved by the gorgeous home windows and the story they inform.”

The gorgeous stained glass home windows of St Patrick’s Church in Bisbee inform the story of Jesus Christ.

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“In each window there’s definitely a lesson to be informed,” mentioned Fr. Who all

He is aware of these classes nicely. Saba grew up in Bisbee, was a parishioner and attended a close-by college.

“If we weren’t pretty much as good as we must be in school, the nuns would ship us to church,” Father recalled. All. “Now we have to remain right here and hopefully, they thought, we had been praying. I do not understand how a lot I used to be praying, however I used to be surprised on the home windows.”

With St. Patrick’s Church in 1917, these fantastic stained glass home windows had been accomplished. Emil Frey was the artist, a second era stained glass craftsman along with his studio in St.

Quick ahead 100 years – Stephen Frey stops in Bisbee to see his great-grandfather’s work. He discovered the home windows to be in poor form, and lined with Lexan from the surface.

St. Patrick’s Church

“Lexan is a polycarbonate and it turns cloudy in about 15-20 years, to the purpose the place you possibly can’t see that there’s stained glass anymore,” defined Stephen Frey. “So, one query led to a different they usually discovered we’ve not modified a bit.”

That is proper, the fourth era of Emil Frey & Associates wished to revive the stained glass home windows.

St. Patrick’s Church organized a committee that raised greater than half one million {dollars} for the restoration challenge. This included a big grant from the Diocese of Tucson.

“It’s due to the generosity of so many individuals, to not solely help the challenge, however to need to be part of this necessary work for St. Patrick and the legacy he’ll go away behind,” Underwood mentioned. “He actually embraced it.”

Stephen Frey and his crew of craftsmen labored in two phases through the winter months of 2021 and 2022.

St. Patrick’s Church

“As soon as the Lexan took off everybody went ‘ooh and aah,'” Frey remembered. “Father Joe mentioned that the best way I used to recollect it.”

The exhausting work and dedication put into element by Frey and his crew paid off. The completed product is breathtaking.

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“It was past our expectations,” Underwood mentioned. “We’re good for one more hundred years.”

There was a window restoration dedication mass in September, attended by Bishop Weisenberger, Bishop Emeritus Kicanas, Declan Underwood and Fr. All.

“It’s my hope now, that since these home windows have been restored, folks from all completely different faiths will come to the church and be impressed,” mentioned the Father. All.

It is particularly inspiring at night time. Stained glass home windows shine with gentle inside St. Patrick’s Church.

St. Patrick’s Church

Father Joe Saba is now retired in Bisbee. You’ll typically discover him within the prayer and contemplation of St. Patrick.

“I feel again to my days in St. Patrick,” Fr. Saba mentioned. “And home windows, and home windows.”

Frey mentioned that his favourite a part of the restoration was not the home windows. It was working with the folks of St. Patrick’s Church.

Frey mentioned the 5tn era of Frey are already working within the household enterprise, and the sixth era is simply now studying the craft.