Immaculate Heart of Mary
Immaculate Heart of Mary dedicated a new sanctuary and other campus facilities in 2009 to meet the needs of their growing parish. Br. Martin Erspamer acted as project liturgical designer and worked with the Building Committee, Sacred Space Committee, Audio/Visual Committee, and Interior Design Committee, to create a space that met the community’s liturgical needs.
The windows were designed by Br. Martin Erspamer and created by Emil Frei & Associates. The new stained-glass windows number twenty-one and are the heart of the new sanctuary. They fill the sanctuary with sacred light and impart an atmosphere of reverence and contemplation. The windows refer to ancient traditions of the Catholic Church, Old and New Testament event, and eight early and modern saints, chosen for the heroic lives and example.
A few highlights include windows in the apse and transept. The apse window ensemble: five tall roman arch windows located in the Reservation Chapel of the new church. Five angels, each robed in colors symbolizing a Liturgical Season—purple, green, red, white, gold. As the sun travels across the sky, these colors are cast onto to tabernacle. The south transept window depicts the Jesse Tree, a symbol of Jesus’ ancestry, as forms a backdrop to bronze sculpture of the Virgin and Child. Opposite this, the north transept window depicts Pentecost, a biblical story that is often referred to as the birth of the Church, and the quintessential model for the praying community. Other windows depict prophets, evangelists, the Holy Spirit, and God the father.
Br. Martin also designed all sacred furnishings including the altar, ambo, reliquary, presider’s and deacon’s chair, crucifix, altar candles, paschal candle stand, tabernacle, baldacchino, sanctuary lamp, and baptismal font.
Client
Fr. James Schillinger, Pastor
Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Atlanta, GA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Project Partners
Liturgical Designer: Br. Martin Erspamer, OSB.
Architect: Tom Smith, CDH Partners
