Michigan Stained Glass Census

This two-panel window depicting Jesus with little children is a modern interpretation of a favorite subject for stained glass windows in church settings. The popular theme is based on a biblical text that quotes Jesus as saying, "Let the little children come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." As in many traditional versions, several children are gathered around the seated figure of Jesus. In this contemporary version, a little girl runs to join the group. She represents five-year-old Meghan O'Neill, who was born with Late Infantile Batten Disease, a rare and always fatal metabolic disease found only in children. Meghan is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene O'Neill, who donated the window in her name, which is inscribed in the lower right corner below her figure. Meghan passed away on August 21, 2002.

Completed in 1986, St. Rita Catholic Church was designed by Dabbert and Fleming Architects of Jackson. The window was created in 2000 by Omnibus Design of Okemos, Michigan. To view another window made by the same studio for this church, visit the Window of the Month for August 1999.

St. Rita Catholic Church of Clarklake was registered in the Michigan Stained Glass Census by Eldred Kennedy of Clarklake (MSGC 93.0022).

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The Michigan Stained Glass Census is supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs