The historic stained glass windows at the Church of the Holy Trinity have gotten brighter. After a multi-year restoration campaign in which the windows were cleaned, repaired and outfitted with new protective glass, the sunlight again floods through, filling the church with colors. Sunday, the church will celebrate the completion of the restoration campaign with a celebratory service, tours and a catfish dinner.

Bobbie Marascalco, chairperson of the “Lights to the World” campaign to restore the windows, some of which date back to the 1880s, said it has been a long process, taking almost three years.

“There was a clear, opaque glass material that covered (the windows) as a protection, but over the years it had turned green,” Marascalco said. “You couldn’t see the windows from the outside of the church at all. Now, they’re so pretty, even from the outside. I just love that you can see from inside the church, if the wind’s blowing, the trees moving around outside.”

Steve Saunders, who served as project manager for the window work and co-chairperson for the window campaign, said the concept of restoration began in 2019, and by 2020 he began seeking a specialty company to complete the work. 

“I had talked to a number of companies, and we decided to use Pearl River Glass Studios in Jackson. They started (work) in 2021,” he said.

When the windows were originally installed, each was dedicated in memory of, or in honor of, a church member. Their names are featured either as a part of the window or on plaques directly beneath.

In an effort to raise funds, the church reached out to descendants of the people to whom the windows were originally dedicated. Saunders credits church member and historian Tim Ables with tracking down living descendants. 

“We had a huge response from families that had been memorialized in the windows. We asked people to sponsor restoration of a window,” he said.

Virginia Burrell, a member of Holy Trinity, has a long and significant legacy with the church. She is a descendant of both Charles O. Willis (great-great grandfather) and Robert C. Wilkerson (great grandfather), for whom two of the windows were originally dedicated. She said she and her brothers had no hesitation when it came to sponsoring the restoration in memory of their ancestors.

“We were given the option of restoring the windows in honor of, or in memory of, someone, so we decided together to restore R. C. Wilkerson in memory of his grandson, Robert C. Wilkerson III, who was my father. Charles Oliver Willis . . .  was restored in memory of his two grandsons, who were Robert Crump Wilkerson Jr. and Charles Willis Wilkerson. Robert Crump Wilkerson Jr. was my grandfather.” 

She also noted that there is a window in memory of Irene Wilkerson Crook, Robert C. Wilkerson’s sister.

Some of the windows required special attention, Saunders said. 

“The real work was to clean the windows. We took the old plexiglass off, cleaned the windows inside and outside, repaired any rotting wood in the frames . . . and installed new safety glass on the outside. Six of the windows had to be removed and taken to the studio in Jackson and taken completely apart and put back together with new lead. (If the glass was) broken or cracked, they replaced the glass, repaired any damage and then brought them back and installed them.”

Saunders said all of the windows are beautiful, but the six Tiffany windows receive the most attention. Before Tiffany became renowned for its jewelry, the company made stained glass windows. In total, there are seven Tiffany stained glass windows in the state of Mississippi, and Holy Trinity has six of them.

“One Tiffany window, it’s called ‘Hope,’ had been deteriorating for years. The whole top piece, the curved top piece, all that glass was so damaged, when we took that section out, a lot of the glass just fell out. It was too broken up to put back together. Andy Young, the owner of Pearl Glass Studios . . . researched what Tiffany glass was made of. He took a bunch of the little shreds of glass and he found some glass out in Oregon. So he flew out to Oregon, matched up the colors with this glass that was almost perfect for this Tiffany glass. He brought it back and they reconstructed the whole top piece. They saved what they could of the Tiffany glass. It is absolutely beautiful now,” Saunders said.

Burrell said the windows tell the story of her family and that adds a personal bit of satisfaction to go along with the happiness of seeing the public enjoying them. She and husband Jack were married in the church, as was her daughter, Avery. The last window to be restored was installed just in time for Avery’s wedding.

Saunders is grateful for the part everyone played in raising funds to restore the windows, but expressed special gratitude for community members who do not attend church at Holy Trinity for the donations made to support the restoration. 

“We had a huge response when we were fundraising,” he said. “We had a huge response from the community in general. People that aren’t members of the church, but know about the windows and wanted to contribute and help, that was really gratifying, to see the community come together and pledge money.”

Holy Trinity encourages anyone who is interested in seeing the restored windows to stop by Sunday for a tour, which will take place following the 10:15 a.m. service. To RSVP for the catfish lunch, calls may be placed to the church at 601-636-0542. The church is located at 900 South St. in Vicksburg.