The Dream of the Child Jesus
As seen in the Apostolate of the Little Flower, VOL. 88, NO. 2
This beautiful stained glass window of the Child Jesus cannot be found by the average visitor to the Basilica today. This is a relic of our past which currently resides in storage. The style of this window strongly resonates with the oldest windows in the Basilica. The windows in the tomb chapel, choir loft, and the original baptistery all share the same decadent shades of blue and a style distinct from that of the Life of St. Teresa or Life of St. John windows.
In the 1950s, when Fr. Pascal Pierini, OCD was Subprior of San Antonio, he commissioned Rodney Winfield of the Emil Frei firm of St. Louis to design the main windows on either side of the pews. After completing this project, Emil Frei offered the shrine a gift to Thérèse, free of charge: the rose window depicting St. Elijah. Unfortunately, the installation of this gift in the friar’s balcony over the north entrance would displace this charming face of the Child Jesus.
In 1894 Thérèse completed an oil painting she called “The Dream of the Child Jesus,” which was then gifted to Mother Agnes of Jesus. Thérèse describes her painting as one in which the Child Jesus dreams of “A cross!... a lance!, a crown of thorns! And yet the divine Child does not tremble…”1 It is easy to see where the unknown artist gained inspiration for his window. As elsewhere in the Basilica, the motif of roses is present, echoing the original painting, but here spilling in profusion from the Child’s lap.
For now this window remains in storage, lovingly kept in a free standing frame, visible only to a rare few. It is with great hope that we anticipate the completion of the Masterplan which will give this beautiful window a new home where it can be admired by all. We share it now with you this Christmas season as a glimpse of the hidden wonders the Basilica holds.
As the Child dreams of his future and the salvation it will bring, so we at the Basilica dream of our future restoration and how we might share His message of love, made possible by the support of those like you.
1. LT 156 From Thérèse to Mother Agnes of Jesus. January 21, 1894