This window depicts St. Scholastica and St. Benedict.  It is interesting to not that they were twins in life, and are after death were buried in the same tomb at Monte Casino in Italy.

Window #3A and 3B  Sts. Scholastica and St. Benedict

St. Scholastica and St. Benedict: The saints pictured in the two panels of this window were sister and brother twins born of Roman nobility in the year 480 in Narsia, Umbria, Italy; their mother died in childbirth. Like her brother, Scholastica (celebrated on February 10th) founded a monastic religious community. She remained close to her brother throughout her life but little else is known about her. On the eve of her death, Benedict visited her but when she asked him to stay for the night he refused, citing his own rule against being outside the monastery for the night. Scholastica is said to have appealed directly to God and so a sudden and violent thunder storm began forcing Benedict to remain with her in spite of his desire to return to his monastery. Explaining the storm to her brother, Scholastica is reported to have said: “I asked a favor of you and you refused so I asked God and he granted it.” Scholastica is the patron saint of convulsive children, nuns and storms. Benedict (celebrated on July 11th, formerly on March 21st, the day of his death) is considered to be the Founder of Western Monasticism. As a young man Benedict became disillusioned with the society in which he lived and so he fled to the mountains in order to live in a cave as a hermit. Soon others were attracted to his strict religious way of life and he was called upon to lead a community of men. Founding a monastery at Monte Cassino, Italy, he wrote the Rule of his order. This window pictures Benedict holding an abbot’s crosier, and a book that represents the Rule, which he wrote not in classical or scholarly Latin, but in the spoken and ordinary Latin of his day. The Latin words pictured on the book in the window represent the first line of the Rule which reads: “Listen, my son, to the precepts of your master.” Among other things, Benedict is the patron saint of agricultural workers, cave explorers, dying people, inflammatory diseases, monks, people in religious orders and against temptations. Both Scholastica, who died in 543, and Benedict, who died in 547, are buried in the same tomb at Monte Cassino.
It is interesting to note that this window was a gift of Rev. Nicholas Balleis; he was a Benedictine priest who served for a time in the parish during the time of the present church’s construction.

This window depicts St. Elizabeth of Hungary and her husband Blessed Ludwig (Luis) of Thuringia.  Blessed Ludwig is the only image presented without the halo of a saint.  Note the diminutive figure of the beggar to the right of St. Elizabeth.

Window #4A and 4B  St. Elizabeth of Hungary and Blessed Ludwig

St. Elizabeth of Hungary and Blessed Ludwig (Louis) of Thuringia: The images in the two panels of this window tell a story from the life of Elizabeth of Hungary (celebrated on November 17th) and of her husband Ludwig, the Landgrave of Thuringia (celebrated on September 11th). Elizabeth, born in 1207 at Presburg, Hungary and Ludwig, born in 1200 at Thuringia (part of present day Germany) were brought together in an arranged marriage when she was fourteen and he was twenty-one; they had three children and were said to have had great love for one another. As Landgrave, Ludwig controlled territory like a Count and was considered to be part of the nobility. The two, especially Elizabeth, were known for their great devotional life, generosity and service to the poor. Elizabeth was often seen giving bread to the needy (represented in this window by a diminutive bearded man sitting to the right of the saint). Although very charitable himself, Ludwig at times had to remind Elizabeth to be prudent in her charity. This window recounts an occasion in which Elizabeth was confronted by Ludwig about her zealous generosity. He believed she was hiding bread under her mantle, and when he asked to be shown what was there she pulled back her cape and revealed a basket filled with a bouquet of roses–even though it was in the middle of winter and it would have been impossible for such flowers to grow or be available at that time of the year; the bread had miraculously changed into the flowers and Ludwig was given a sign of the great holiness of his wife. Elizabeth was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order (or “Third Order”). The buildings pictured in the background of this window represent a hospital opened by Elizabeth in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. Ludwig died in the Crusades in 1227; after his death, Elizabeth sold all her possessions, worked to support her children and continued to live a holy life dedicated to those in need. She died in Marburg in 1231 at the age of twenty-four and was canonized only four years later. Her husband Ludwig was never given such recognition, but instead is known as “Blessed;” for this reason his image in the window has no nimbus, or halo, as is customary in pictures of saints. Among other things, Elizabeth is the patron saint of bakers, beggars, brides, charities, homeless people, hospitals, Secular Franciscans and widows. It should be noted that the church also has a statue of St. Elizabeth located in the chancel near the former high altar.
This window was a gift of the Saint Elizabeth’s Society.