Restoration of the stained-glass windows of the main chapel of the General House
The Main Chapel of the General House is well known in the Marist world, since with its dome and cross on top, it is an important monument that recalls the Marist mission, focused on making known Christ’s love for humanity. The General House complex was inaugurated in 1961, the same year that the artist Giovanni D’Aloisio, who died in 2016, made the stained-glass windows of the dome, and the cross on the door at the entrance of the chapel, made of bronze.
The stained-glass windows of the dome, with Marian symbols on an abstract background, favour the colour blue and evoke the invocations of the Lauretan Litanies. After 60 years of its installation, the stained-glass windows showed evidence of significant deterioration. The glasses were bent on the inside, and the oxidized lead, used as a moulding, did not guarantee safety, and caused some fragments of the material to fall. In addition, the stained-glass windows had no external protection, and they were exposed to weather conditions that caused the accumulation of dirt, both outside and inside.
The General Administration contacted Samuele Pulcini, the Italian artist living in Saint Etienne, France, to assess the situation and carry out the restoration.
The work was carried out in 4 phases for each group of stained-glass windows: panel reconstruction; cleaning of the fragments and replacement of damaged glasses; assembly of glasses in new lead frames; and placement of the new structure, installation of protective glasses and restored stained glass windows.
Samuele Pulcini is originally from Albano Laziale and trained in the art studio of Domus DEI Rome”. He learned from different masters the art of fire-painted stained glass, the “Dallas glass” technique, working with fiberglass and the realization of mosaics. In 2012, together with his wife and six children, he was sent by Pope Benedict XVI to a mission in the diocese of Saint Etienne, in France, where he currently lives and works in his own workshop, carrying out new works and restoring everything. the world.
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In the picture: Br. Ben Consigli (General Councillor), Samuele Pulcini (artist) and Luca Piagnerelli (General House Administration)
