St. Pat's window restoration

By LINDA M. LINONIS

linonis@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The methodical process of restoring stained-glass windows involves removal of each section, getting a rubbing of the original, dismantling, releading, glazing, reinforcing, cleaning and reinstalling.

That effort has been ongoing since Jan. 2 at St. Patrick Church, 1420 Oak Hill Ave., where seven stained-glass windows on the north side of the church are being restored. This project will complete restoration of all 72 stained-glass windows in the 90-year-old building.

The parish, which was established in 1911 and marked its centennial in 2011, first worshipped in a mission-style temporary church. The cornerstone of the current church, which was designated the pro-cathedral when St. Columba Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1954, was laid in 1924 and dedicated in 1926.

The 60-foot scaffolding took a week to erect. It’s enveloped in huge sheets of plastic to minimize dirt and debris in the sanctuary. The plastic also covers the end section of the pews, making them off limits.

While the restoration moves ahead, so does the church schedule of Masses, Lenten services and funerals. A sign of Lent is a cross of tree limbs draped in purple cloth, and long lengths of purple cloth also are suspended from the plastic sheeting.

Wendy Joliet, vice president of Studio Arts & Glass in North Canton, was at the church this week. She and her husband, Bob, founded the company 35 years ago. He has a fine-arts degree and she has a business degree.

The company also did the restoration of the stained-glass windows on the south side of the church in 2005 and the entrance windows in 2011. She explained the complicated and painstaking process.

There are seven sections of windows, each with 13 stained-glass panels, totaling 91. The vertical-shaped panels are 25 inches wide and 48 inches long with a curved quatrefoil at the top. Each part weighs about 30 pounds.

The quatrefoil, often used in traditional Christian symbolism, resembles a flower or four-leaf clover. “These are leaded stained-glass windows that are painted. This makes them more valuable and desirable,” Joliet said.

“The glass is always kept upright on easels for safety reasons,” Joliet said.

Once the window gets to Studio Arts, it is disassembled, she said, noting that is where the real work and artistry takes place. Disassembly involves removing the old leading and every piece of glass. “The rubbing of the window allows us to reassemble it and get everything in the right place,” Joliet said.

There is nearly a century of grit and grime on the windows that must be cleaned. The windows are reassembled with new leading, and a glazing cement is used to give the windows about 70 percent of their strength. “Now they will last another 75 to 100 years,” she said.

In Ohio, Joliet said, stained-glass windows are subjected to expansion during hot weather and contraction during cold periods. “This sometimes causes the window to bow and sag. Some pieces of glass even break,” she said, noting that isn’t seen until the old leading is removed.

Joliet said she believes the stained-glass windows at St. Patrick were imported from Germany or France.

If a piece is glass is broken, craftsmen at Studio Arts replicate it. A new piece is cut to fit, it’s painted with stained-glass paint and then fired at 1,200 degrees in a kiln to fuse the paint into the glass.

While people looking at stained-glass windows usually see the overall, it is the special black paint fired in a kiln that defines the details in the designs.

Joliet said four sections of stained-glass windows would be reinstalled this week. There are three sections to go. “We’re hoping to get them finished for Easter,” Joliet said.

“It takes about 40 hours of work per panel – and multiply that by 91 panels,” she said. “That’s a lot of hours.”

Four employees of Studio Arts are working at St. Patrick to remove and reinstall the windows. Joliet said the company has grown to 25 employees. Kirby Tullos is the master craftsman, who has 30 years on the job, and trains employees in the process. Coon Restoration in Louisville, Ohio, also is involved in the project.

The Rev. Ed Noga, pastor, said the parish conducted a capital campaign with the goal of $875,000. The stained-glass window project underway costs $185,000; the entrance stained-glass window project was $80,000. The campaign paid for 10 projects, some completed and some underway, which include heating and cooling upgrades, south side steps, parking-lot repair, organ upgrade, phone and computer system, LED outside lighting, evangelization and Preservation Fund.