Mothers' and Babies' Chapel
The main theme of the Chapel is the Passion of Our Lord, a popular topic during the Medieval period (John 19:34), and twentieth century Catholic France. Depicted in the Chapel are symbols of the Passion of Our Lord, of the Arma Christi (Weapons of Christ) - crown of thorns, spear, nails, and the scourge. Also depicted is the sponge. Together, these objects visually refer to the biblical narrative of Christ’s Crucifixion in the Gospels of Mark and John. Specific scenes alluded to are the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary - The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-42), The Scourging of Jesus (John 19:1), The Crowning with Thorns (Mark 15:16-20), The Carrying of the Cross (John 19:12-17), and The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-56; Mark 15:22-41; Luke 23:26-49; John 19:16-30). These scriptural scenes referred to are particular powerful and rich in imagery. The Sorrowful Mysteries are particuarly prayed on Tuesdays and Fridays - as Jesus died on Friday (Crucifixion). The Rosary is designed to encourage prayerful contemplation of the mysteries, praying for Mary to intercede on our behalf whilst meditating on the significant events in the life of Christ. As the Rosary points through Mary to Jesus. All for Jesus through Mary. This is of course a Church dedicated to Our Lady.
It is the movement of the Holy Spirit, beginning and end, and the Incarnation that thematically connects all aspects of the stained glass together. Overall, the iconography is a religious reminder for devotees to participate in the aforementioned devotional practises of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, Stations of the Cross and contemplation of Christ's Crucifixion.
Individual symbols of Christ’s Crucifixion encourage the onlooker to partake in contemplation of the Passion and the popular Stations of the Cross, commonly prayed more during the Lentern period and sometimes on Fridays. Stations encourage devotion to Christ, to contemplate His suffering and love of everyone by dying on the Cross for our salvation. The glass encourages us to further consider salvation with the Arma Christi encircling the Crucifix, which the spear points to. Futhermore, the lines of the centrally positioned crucifix expand beyond the boundaries and borders of the imprecise circular shape, showing the movement of the Holy Spirit. Reference to Jesus is also in the Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus adjacent to the Chapel, which demonstrates the importance of Jesus, and his role in salvation history.