Stained Glass Windows

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Artistic heritage — Palissy inventory IM67017145

Ten exceptional windows

The stained glass windows of the Church of Sainte-Libaire are among the finest pieces of artistic heritage in the Bruche Valley. Commissioned on 18 July 1869 by mayor Antoine Lentz and the municipal council from the glass painters Maréchal & Champigneulle of Metz, they were installed before 15 October 1869 in time for the reopening of the church.

These ten grisaille windows each depict a saint in half-figure, set within a reserve on a stencilled floral ground, surrounded by interlacing and a foliage border. The total cost came to 4,480 francs. They are protected by galvanised wire mesh.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight [...] and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."
Hebrews 12:1

Deteriorated by time and the artillery vibrations of 1944, the ten windows were entirely restored in summer 1971 under parish priest Lucien Friederich.

4,480 fr.
Cost of the 1869 commission
10
Grisaille windows (5 right side, 5 left side)
~1 m
Height of the half-figure medallions
1971
Complete restoration of all ten windows
The nave windows (1869)

The saints depicted

The ten saints are all inscribed in Latin in their haloes. They evoke the local spirituality of the Vosges and Alsace: founders of abbeys, evangelists, regional saints. Entering from the back of the nave, the windows are discovered one by one as one walks towards the chancel.

Right side entering, from the door towards the chancel Left side entering, from the door towards the chancel

Right side (south) — from entrance to chancel

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Right side

Saint Hidulphus

SANCTVS HIDVLPHVS

A monk of Bavarian origin and former chorepiscopus of Trier, he founded the Abbey of Moyenmoutier (Vosges).

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Right side

Saint Hubert

SANCTVS HVBERTVS

Bishop of Liège (658–727), patron of hunters. His conversion took place before a stag bearing a cross between its antlers. Deeply venerated in the Ardennes and the Vosges.

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Right side

Saint Nicholas

SANCTVS NICOLAVS

Bishop of Myra (4th c.), patron saint of Lorraine. Greatly venerated throughout the region, his feast day is 6 December. Patron of children and sailors.

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Right side

Saint Matthew

SANCTVS MATHAEVS

Apostle and evangelist. A tax collector before his calling, author of the first Gospel. His symbol is the winged angel, one of the four evangelist symbols.

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Right side

Saint Stephen

SANCTVS STEPHANVS

The first Christian martyr (protomartyr), stoned in Jerusalem c. 36 AD. A deacon, he is depicted holding the stones of his martyrdom. Patron of deacons.

Left side (north) — from entrance to chancel

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Left side

Saint Gondelbert

SANCTVS GONDELBERTVS

Founder of the Abbey of Senones (Vosges) in the 7th century — the abbey whose abbot held the right of appointment for the parish of La Broque. A tutelary figure of the parish.

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Left side

Saint Anthony

SANCTVS ANTONIVS

Most likely Saint Anthony Abbot (251–356), father of Christian monasticism, hermit of Egypt. Patron of domestic animals, widely invoked in rural communities.

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Left side

Saint Deodatus / Dié

SANCTVS DEODATVS

An Irish bishop of the 7th century, hermit in the Vosges, founder of the Abbey of Saint-Dié. The town of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges takes its name from him.

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Left side

Saint Mark

SANCTVS MARCVS

Evangelist, author of the second Gospel. Disciple of the Apostle Peter. His symbol is the winged lion. First Bishop of Alexandria according to tradition.

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Left side

Saint John the Evangelist

SANCTVS IOANNES

The beloved disciple of Christ, author of the fourth Gospel, the Book of Revelation and three epistles. His symbol is the eagle. The only apostle not to have been martyred.

Note on the ensemble

The choice of saints is far from arbitrary: they reflect the local spirituality of the Bruche Valley. Saint Gondelbert and Saint Hidulphus recall the two abbeys that shaped the history of La Broque: Senones and Moyenmoutier. Saint Deodatus evokes the diocese to which the parish belonged from 1793 to 1871. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of nearby Lorraine. The evangelists (Matthew, Mark, John) are grouped alongside the popular local saints.

The chancel

The chancel windows

Windows of 1869 (lost)

Two full-length figurative windows were commissioned in 1869 from Maréchal & Champigneulle for the chancel:

  • The Ascension of Christ
  • The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin

These two windows were damaged during the fighting of the Liberation (November 1944, artillery fire) and had to be replaced during the 1961 restoration works.

The chancel in 1957 — the 1869 windows still in place

View of the chancel in 1957: the original Maréchal & Champigneulle windows (1869) depicting the Ascension and the Assumption are still visible, before their replacement in 1961.

Windows of 1961 — Adeline Hébert-Stevens

The two new chancel windows, inaugurated on 25 October 1961, are the work of Madame Adeline Hébert-Stevens (Bony), of Paris, who also directed the entire restoration programme.

They depict the symbols of the four evangelists:

  • The eagle → Saint John
  • The ox → Saint Luke
  • The lion → Saint Mark
  • The angel → Saint Matthew
Octagonal chancel and main sandstone altar — Hébert-Stevens windows visible

Older chancel windows

Two small older windows still light the chancel, each bearing a simple symbolic motif:

  • One symbolising bread
  • The other symbolising wine

They refer to the two Eucharistic species: discreet yet deeply meaningful symbols in a chancel.

Chancel window symbolising wine
Chancel window symbolising wine.
© Photograph: Monique Fluck

Secondary windows

Two other windows with an identical motif — a lyre — illuminate:

  • The baptismal chapel
  • The staircase leading to the organ loft

The lyre is a symbol of praise and sacred music.

Baptismal chapel window with lyre motif
Baptismal chapel window — lyre motif.
The chancel ceramic

Christ the King — Adeline Hébert-Stevens

Christ the King ceramic

The large Christ the King ceramic, placed at the centre of the chancel's back wall between the two windows, is also the work of Adeline Hébert-Stevens (Mme Paul Bony), of Paris.

This ceramic depicts Christ in glory, surrounded by angels, in a dynamic sculptural frame. It is directly linked to the consecration of the church on the feast of Christ the King (29 October 1961).

A painting of Saint Libaire previously occupied this position before the 1961 restoration. This painting no longer survives.

"On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."
Revelation 19:16

Adeline Hébert-Stevens — Mme Paul Bony

A Parisian artist and cartoonist (designer of stained glass and ceramic cartoons), she worked notably with Paul Bony, master glass painter and her husband. The Palissy inventory mentions her in the description of the church's furnishings (file IM67015405).