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Gathering Space
As you enter, you find yourself in a large
vestibule called a Gathering Space. It is a threshold area, a transition
between everyday life and the special time of worship. Such a feature is
usually included in newer Catholic churches.
“Planning for a convergence of pathways to the liturgical space in a
concourse or foyer or other place adequate for gathering before or after
liturgies is recommended. Such a gathering-space can encourage
introductions, conversations, the sharing of refreshments after a liturgy,
the building of the kind of community sense and feeling recognized now to
be a prerequisite of good celebration.” (Art and Environment in Catholic
Worship by the American Catholic Bishops, #54)
The north and south walls contain circular
rose windows. This contemporary stained glass has been designed for St.
Peter’s by Benoit Gilsoul. Born in Namur, Belgium, in 1914, Gilsoul
graduated in 1938 from the Academie des Beaux Arts, the premier art
college in his native country. In the 1940’s and 1950’s, his work appeared
in more than 50 European galleries. In 1967 he relocated his family to the
United States and has worked extensively since then in church stained
glass from his studio in New York.
In the north wall is the Window of the Holy Spirit. Comprised of light
colors, this window is a celebration of the Spiritual. In the center, cut
of a special translucent glass, is a dove suggestive of the Holy Spirit,
and below, flames symbolic of the gifts of the Spirit received in Baptism
and Confirmation. The blues and greens throughout are intended to evoke
the spiritual life linked to creation and hope.
The south wall contains the Window of St. Peter. Gilsoul’s design is based
upon a sketch by architect Anthony Genovese. In contrast to the light
colors of the window opposite, this window is rich in the colors of the
liturgical year. The cross of Jesus Crucified blends with the cross of St.
Peter, who, according to legend, asked to be crucified upside down because
he was unworthy to die in the same manner as his Master. Various shades of
red and yellows in the center represent the sacrifice of Jesus and the
glory of the Resurrection. This pattern of dying and rising is reproduced
in the life of every authentic disciple. In the words of Philippians
3:10-11, “All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection
and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death. That
is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the dead.”
Hence the unity in the cross of the disciple (Peter) and the Master
(Jesus) in the crucifixion motif of this window.
The peaked roof here and use of rose windows is drawn from the
architectural language of the Gothic style prevalent in the Middle Ages.
On the west wall is a carved wood image of the Risen Christ, given to the
parish in 1981 by our first two pastors, Monsignor Daniel J. Collins and
Monsignor David J. Casazza, on the occasion of the last major renovation.
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