The side altar on the left is dedicated to Mary, Queen of the Universe. Her statue stands on the tabernacle. Like the altars to its right, the Mary altar is made of carrara marble with onyx pillars. These Jubilee altars date from 1896, when the parish marked its 75th anniversary. Above the altar are three French stained-glass windows dating from the second church in 1890. They survived the 1940 fire.
These windows show Mary flanked by her parents, Sts. Joachim and Anne, and include the names of donors, the “living stones” who built St. Peter’s in an earlier time.
Sts. Joachim and Anne: They’re not in the Bible, but are first named as Mary’s parents in the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James, likely from the second century, according to Butler’s Lives of the Saints. In the Protoevangelium story, they’re old, childless, and praying separately, Joachim in the desert and Anne at home, when angels appear and tell them they will have a child. Early church fathers saw similarities with the Old Testament story of the childless Hannah bearing Samuel in 1 Samuel 1:9-20. In 1969, Joachim’s feast was joined with Anne’s feast on July 26. They are the patron saints of married couples, and Anne is the patron of childless women, expectant mothers, and miners.
In his window, the gray-bearded Joachim is holding a staff in one hand, with his other hand raised slightly as if in blessing. His garments are lavender and maroon with brocade trim. Anne is dressed in white and green with gold trim; her right hand appears to be resting over her heart. The Joachim window says: “In Memory of Agnes M. Easly.” The Anne window says: “In Memory of Annie V. and Mary M. Bryerton.”
Blessed Virgin Mary (as described in the revised NAB’s “Encyclopedic Dictionary”): “Young woman of Nazareth in Galilee, betrothed to a righteous carpenter named Joseph and visited by the angel Gabriel, who announced that she had been chosen by God to be the mother of His only-begotten Son, to be named Jesus, who would become the Christ, or Messiah, Savior of the world.” She appears in the Gospels a number of times, including visiting her cousin Elizabeth, asking Jesus to perform a miracle at Cana, and keeping vigil at the foot of the cross. She is also with the apostles at Pentecost in Acts of the Apostles.
Under different titles, Mary is the patron saint of many countries, including the United States. The church celebrates more than a dozen major Marian feasts, with two solemnities close to Christmas: the Immaculate Conception on December 8 and Mary, Mother of God on January 1. In her window at St. Peter’s, Mary is wearing blue, white, and gold garments, with her hands folded in prayer. The window says: “In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Luke Matthews.”
During our Bicentennial, St. Anne, St. Joachim and Our Lady, pray for us!