By Katie Vasquez
BREEZY POINT — As sunlight begins to filter once again through newly crafted stained glass at St. Edmund Church in Queens, parishioners are witnessing more than the restoration of a building — they are seeing a symbol of their community’s renewal.
The finishing touches are being placed on a new Blessed Mother window created by Rockaway artist Patrick Clark, one of the final pieces in the restoration of the church after a fire ripped through the building the day before Easter in 2025. The blaze destroyed about half of the church’s stained glass windows, most of which have now been replaced.
Perched above the church entrance, the Blessed Mother window will once again welcome worshippers as they enter and leave the sanctuary, restoring a familiar image that held deep meaning for generations of parishioners.
“That window meant a lot to the ladies in the Rosary Society and to people because, as you were walking into the church or walking out of the church, that was what you saw,” said Father Michael Gelfant, pastor of Blessed Trinity Parish.
For Clark, owner of Sunlites Stained Glass, the project represents both an artistic and spiritual calling.
“The windows at Saint Edmund’s are traditional stained glass,” Clark said. “Most windows in churches are traditional stained glass and made with lead in the same manner that stained glass windows have been made for a thousand years since the inception of the great cathedrals.”
Working on a church in his own community has made the commission especially meaningful.
“It’s like to be able to do something in my own home area, in my own diocese and in my own neighborhood. It’s the best,” Clark said.
Throughout the church’s 13-month restoration, Gelfant said preserving quality craftsmanship was a priority, even when sourcing materials became difficult.
“At some point there were things that we just could not get, and the material coming in is not quality,” he said. “It looks shiny and gold, but it’s really not quality.”
That commitment extended beyond the stained glass. Gelfant said all of the sanctuary furniture was handcrafted in Brooklyn, while the new pews came from Pennsylvania. The Stations of the Cross found new life after being repurposed from a church that closed in the Archdiocese of New York.
Just as important as the materials, Gelfant said, was ensuring the parish community remained at the center of the rebuilding process.
“Historically, when a church is built, when it’s raised up from the ground, it should be the people of the community that raise it,” he said.
For Clark, restoring St. Edmund’s windows is part of carrying forward an art form that has inspired the faithful for centuries.
“It’s sort of a spiritual experience,” he said. “It’s very special. We appreciate being able to do something. Not too many people are participating in an art, a craft or a fabrication that has really been going on for a thousand years.”
While the sanctuary has largely been restored, work at St. Edmund Church is not yet complete. Parish leaders hope to break ground on a new community center later this year — another step in rebuilding not only the church itself, but the community it serves.