Polish National Catholic Cathedral of

Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr,

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Provided in this pamphlet is a brief description of the stained glass windows in the Polish National Catholic Cathedral of St. Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr, Scranton, PA.

When the faithful enter the vestibule of the church and look toward the main altar, and then upon the windows on one side and the other, they will see a number of personages linked throughout the ages with the foundation and the growth of the Christian Church.  These windows depict Jesus Christ as the archpriest and the founder of the Church, the blessed Mother Mary as an example of motherhood, the immaculate Virgin, an example of purity, holiness, and dedication.

Then the viewer will also see the figures of the Apostles: Peter, Paul, and John, and on the other side the figures of Poland’s greatest poets and philosophers, Adam Mickiewicz and Julius Slowacki, and again the greatest reformer of the Czech nation: Jan Hus, and also the figure of the immortal Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, a friend of the people, especially those forgotten ones living in slavery and degradation.

These figures speak to us as though they were alive.  We invite you: “COME TO THIS TEMPLE OF THE PEOPLE, LOOK AND SEE, BEND YOUR KNEE AND OPEN YOUR HEART TO GOD.”

A short sketch of these figures will be an invaluable remembrance to all of those who will have the good fortune to worship in St. Stanislaus Cathedral.

From the time that man has learned how to fashion them, stained glass windows have depicted men and women who have contributed to the growth of the Christian Church through their love of God, love of Jesus Christ, and through their faith.  This artistry in glass fills all those who visit the Temples of the Lord with inspiration and a spirit of dedication.

The figure of the great man or woman burned in glass not only fills the temple with a rainbow of color but also radiates before the eyes of men the essence of faith, the essence of a virtuous life and the example which awakens a deep emotion within the soul, a resolution to emulate the acts and deeds coming from the one portrayed as well as from the will to emulate the greatest servant of humanity: Jesus Christ.

Besides these noble men and women, whom the Church recognizes as saints, humanity also prides itself with those who in many areas might be at a distance from the altar of sacrifice, but who were close to God by glorifying Him in “spirit and in truth,” by bringing moral and material aid to their neighbor.  Almost every nation has such men and women.  There is no shortage of them in the American and Polish Nations.

It is no wonder then that the people building St. Stanislaus Cathedral, under the guidance of their spiritual leader, Bishop Francis Hodur filled the Cathedral Church with stained glass depicting figures from the religious and national spheres to inspire all who worship here with a zeal to emulate those who put their Christianity into everyday practice.