Saint John Paul II Catholic Church in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, partnered with Scottish Stained Glass to design and install new windows for their chapel addition. The project centered around creating a series of stained glass pieces that would honor the four apostles while complementing the church’s newly built extension to the sanctuary. Because the chapel featured windows in various shapes and sizes, the design process posed unique artistic and logistical challenges. The church also had a limited budget, which required thoughtful design solutions to balance beauty, scale, and affordability. Our team conducted research on the lives of the apostles and incorporated symbolic elements—such as circular medallions, sunburst motifs, and rays of light descending from heaven—to represent divine inspiration and guidance.
Project Overview
Project Details
Location: Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Type of Project: Chapel Addition / Custom Stained Glass Design
Glass Type: Painted and leaded glass
Client Type: Catholic Church
The irregular window shapes required careful planning to ensure the artwork would appear cohesive and balanced across the chapel. To maintain the project within budget, we simplified certain aspects of the background glass while focusing detailed hand-painting on key symbolic features. The soft, radiant tones of the glass bring warmth and light into the space, capturing the essence of faith and devotion without overwhelming the architecture. The result is a serene, uplifting environment that complements both the new construction and the existing sanctuary.
Notable Highlights
This project demonstrates how creative design and budget-conscious planning can achieve exceptional results. By focusing on the four apostles and using symbolic imagery like radiant sunbursts and heavenly light, Scottish Stained Glass transformed the chapel into a space that feels both intimate and sacred. Despite the challenges of scale and shape, the finished windows beautifully reflect the church’s mission—to celebrate faith through light, simplicity, and meaning.