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Categories Gallery, Ita
Ita
Mary Magdalene
The St. Ita Church features a stunning collection of stained glass windows. In the front of the sanctuary, the window depicting Ita illustrates several scenes from her exemplary life of service to God. The top right window shows her receiving the holy veil when taking her vows to the church. The middle right picture displays her imploring her father to help a beggar. The bottom right visualizes her at her spinning wheel. The left side of the Medallion window portrays Ita welcoming new members to her convent, and the one below represents her blessing St. Brendan before he departed on his legendary missionary journeys. The bottom left portion is an image of Ita in prayer. The large portrait of her in the center pictures her holding the staff of abbess leadership, a crozier, and cradling a representation of the church.
The church was founded in Chicago in 1900 to honor the venerated Irish nun. Famous ecclesiastic architect Henry L. Schlacks was commissioned by the diocese to design the massive French Gothic cathedral that was dedicated in 1924. Schlacks designed 10 brilliant stained-glass Medallion windows containing 200,000 pieces of expertly cut glass for the sanctuary. There are twelve windows, each with a large central image and surrounded by six story vignettes. The windows are more than decoration; they are meant to be visual sermons to all who enter. In addition to the Ita window, there are numerous Old and New Testament collections, as well as a window depicting St. Patrick and the titles of the Virgin Mary.

Title of Art: Ita

Subjects: Ita

Subject Century: 6th

Ritual Pose/Object: habit, spinning wheel, staff

Artist: Maumejean Frères

Art Form: Stained glass

Date of Composition: 1924

Exhibit Institution: Saint Ita Church

Exhibit Location: Chicago, Illinois

VM Image #: 0145

Photographer: Josephine Stringer

Date of Photograph: September 8, 2024

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