St. Margaret's RC Church

Padre Pio Chapel

The chapel is located at the east end of the narthex

Left: Photos of Pope John II ... Gold framed Diploma of Aggregation ... Stained glass window by Josef Mazur ... All three detailed below:

Pope John Paul II canonized Padre Pio

Diploma of Aggregation, certifying that there is a Padre Pio Prayer Group constituted in the church

Stained glass window by Josef Mazur ... St. John the Baptist holding the Lamb of God, i.e., Jesus ... "Credo": "I believe" ... "Ecce Agnus Dei": "Behold the Lamb of God" ... The window is not related to Padre Pio

Right: Prie dieu in front of a photo of Padre Pio (detailed below)

Padre Pio, also known as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, O.F.M. Cap., was a friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic, now venerated as a saint of the Catholic church. Born Francesco Forgione, he was given the name of Pius when he joined the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.

"On September 20, 1918, as he [Padre Pio] was making his thanksgiving after Mass, Padre Pio had a vision of Jesus. When the vision ended, he had the stigmata in his hands, feet, and side. Life became more complicated after that. Medical doctors, Church authorities, and curiosity seekers came to see Padre Pio. In 1924, and again in 1931, the authenticity of the stigmata was questioned; Padre Pio was not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or to hear confessions. He did not complain of these decisions, which were soon reversed. Padre Pio rarely left the friary after he received the stigmata, but busloads of people soon began coming to see him. Each morning after a 5 a.m. Mass in a crowded church, he heard confessions until noon. He took a mid-morning break to bless the sick and all who came to see him. Every afternoon he also heard confessions. In time his confessional ministry would take 10 hours a day; penitents had to take a number so that the situation could be handled.He died on September 23, 1968, and was beatified in 1999. In one of the largest such ceremonies in history, Pope John Paul II canonized Padre Pio of Pietrelcina on June 16, 2002. It was the 45th canonization ceremony in Pope John Paul’s pontificate. More than 300,000 people braved blistering heat as they filled St. Peter’s Square and nearby streets." - Franciscan Media (online December 2018)

A statue of Padre Pio is in front of the church

Sanctuary

Sanctuary and nave ... Gothic Revival ribs ... Main altar flanked by two chapel altars ... Pews

Main altar ... Stained glass window detailed below:

Salvator Mundi

Nave

Nave ... East wall ... The four double panel stained glass windows shown below:

First two stations of the cross ... Detail below:

Left panel: Ave Rex Judaeorum: Hail, King of the Jews

Crucifixion,the eleventh Station of the Cross ... Resurrection ... Detail below:

Crucifixion and Resurrection

Jesus ... Holy Spirit in the form of a dove above Mary in heaven ... Detail below:

Jesus's stigmata ... Stigmata can also be seen in Mazur's St. Francis of Assisi window which is illustrated below ... Another later depiction of stigmata is seen in the Padre Pio chapel in the narthex of the church and in the statue of Padre Pio on the front lawn of the church

Detail below:

Right panel: Mary being crowned Queen of Heaven by the hands of Jesus ... Scepter (regal staff) is topped by a fleur-de-lis

Transepts

East transept ... Stained glass window detailed below:

Left panel: St. John the apostle, traditionally depicted beardless, holding Holy Communion ... Center panel: Jesus displays his sacred heart to a nun, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (third panel), the saint after whom this church is named ... Two window details below:

Left panel: Eagle is a symbol of St. John the apostle ... Center panel: Holy Spirit in the form of a dove above Jesus - two of the three Persons in the Trinity ... Right panel: the sacred heart of Jesus

John the apostle ... Jesus displaying his Sacred Heart to St. Margaret in the right hand panel ... St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Window in the north side of the east transept    ...    Left panel: St Francis of Assisi   ...
Cf., the cartoon for St Francis located at Felician Sisters Immaculate Heart of Mary Convent   ...
Right panel: St. Vincent de Paul ...   Details below:

Note the two stigmata on the hands of St. Francis of Assisi, the first saint to receive the stigmata ... Cf., the statue of stigmatist Padre Pio on the front lawn of the church ... The two dates are the feast days of the saints, although St. Vincent's feast day since 1970 is September 27 ... Detail below illustrates the bottom of the St. Francis panel:

St. Francis panel ... Note one of the stigmata on the saint's right foot ... Note artist's signature - J. MAZUR - in lower right

West transept

West transept ... Window center panel detail below:

Pope Pius X: head of the Catholic Church from August 1903 to his death in 1914 ... This first building of the St. Margaret's parish was the 1916 chapel

Window in the north side of the west transept ... Detail below:

St. Patrick

Rear of church

Nave and choir loft ... View from the altar ... Stained glass windows in the choir loft detailed below:

Detail #1 - Choir loft windows ... Note halos

Detail #2 - King David and his lyre

Detail #3 - St. Jadwiga/St. Hedwig

Detail #4 - Saint Cecilia and her organ