Wolverhampton, St Patrick's RC Church

Title: 'The Life of St Patrick'

Date: 2011

Design by: Deb Lowe

Size of each light: 910mm wide x 4215mm

Window One: Illustrates St Patrick's early life. As a boy, his kidnapping, slavery and work as a shepherd. The broken chains and the ship represent his vision of escape and his new life as a Christian and the beginning of his journey in faith.

Window Two: Represents his early mission in Ireland. The fire on the mountain is the story of the Paschal fire that St Patrick lit on the hill of Slane. Fleeing snakes recall the legend that St Patrick banished snakes from Ireland. The whole light symbolises the victory of good over evil.

Window Three: Here St Patrick's mitre and his bishop's robes are displayed. A saltire formed by an ornate golden bishop's crosier in the Irish style and a humble wooden shepherd's crook symbolise St Patrick as the patron Saint of Ireland.

Window Four: The white shell, a common symbol of baptism, represents St Patrick baptizing thousands of new converts. A representation of the Ardagh Chalice (one of Ireland’s most famous treasures) symbolises the Eucharist. Shamrocks recall the legend that St Patrick used the leaf to teach the concept of the Holy Trinity. Three salmon (based on ancient Celtic carvings) form a trinity representing the Christian faith and his method of using existing symbols and festivals to teach and celebrate Christianity.

Window Five: Represents continuing faith through the ages, from the earliest Celtic crosses used as gathering places when St Patrick began his mission in Ireland to the present day. The old St Patrick's Church recalls the Irish communities who settled in Wolverhampton in the Nineteenth Century, the clock tower of the New Cross Hospital represents links between the Church and the wider community. A Celtic plaited motif forms a backdrop down the banner symbolising the unbroken line of faith. The five windows, each over 4 metres high, illuminate the entire nave.