The artistic designs of the stained glass windows of the Manila Cathedral are mostly products of the creative genius of Galo Ocampo, one of the most versatile contemporary Filipino artists during his time and a recipient of the 1964 Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award from the city government of Manila . Rich in story and symbolism, the stained glass windows represent varied sights and scenes that broaden one’s appreciation of faith, its victories and vicissitudes.
Ocampo distinguished himself for being then the only Filipino who studied heraldry abroad and who became a member of the International Institute of Genealogy and Heraldry in Madrid . For the stained glass windows of the Manila Cathedral, he was sent by Archbishop Rufino Santos to Rome to undergo training in stained glass design.
In working on the cathedral window projects, Ocampo entrusted his detailed cardboard sketches of the panels to the Instituto de Arte Liturgica, which undertook the task of transferring them in the form of stained glass. While the various chapels at the cathedral are dedicated to special saints, Ocampo’s designs are mainly along a Marian theme, the Immaculate Conception of Mary being the patroness of the Archdiocese of Manila and the Manila Cathedral. Thus, the general splendor of the ornaments for the entire edifice revolve around the traditional motives of the ineffably rich iconography of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God.
All the said stained glass windows prove profoundly meaningful. They give a pictorial history of Christianity and help accomplish the duty of educating the faithful, favoring devotion and pity, that is, in accordance with the teaching of Pope Urban VIII the Great. They also comply with formal modernity, which the most remote Christian art tradition demands. The fineness of the stained glass windows of the Manila Cathedral is entrusted particularly to the magic of their colors. While they are so well matched according to the graduated exposure to the sunlight, their brilliant colors pour in the dim interior to give a dramatic lighting effect. In solitude, this favors prayer and solemnity. Here, devotion and art are fused into one – ad majorem gloriam dei.
Manila Cathedral’s stained glass windows are not only lovely decorative features of the edifice but truly symbolic media that set religious fervor and a deep understanding of the Faith. They fill the Cathedral with light and beauty, symbolically like Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the Divine Light born of Mary, who has come into the world to fill and heal our souls with His light and love.
A total of 134 stained glass windows are found at the Manila Cathedral, specifically:
The 30 Windows of the Central Nave
In 30 episodes, the story of Mary’s life is portrayed in the central threefold panels of the ten
ternary groups of windows illuminating the nave of the cathedral. Flanking the central triptych are the lateral windows which depict those saints especially dedicated to Marian venerations. On the lowest panel of each window appear the symbolic representation and iconographic attributes of these saints, namely, Bernadette Soubirous, Therese of of Lisieux, Francis of Assisi, Stanislaus Kostka, Gabriel of the Lady in Sorrow, Mary Magdalene, Mary the Egyptian, Bridget, Gemma Galgani, Bernard, Alphonsus Liguori, Ephraim Siroi, Blessed Angelico, Pulchra, Louis IX, Flavian, John Damascene, Sixtus III, Innocent XI, Philip Bernard of Clairvaux, and Ambrose.
The 14 Windows of the Lateral Aisle and Choir
The lateral aisles are illuminated by a series of seven round windows depicting the seven corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, to visit the imprisoned, and to bury the dead.
Overlooking the choir gallery are two round windows bearing the ornamental motives of angelic musicians and musical instruments, and each one dominated by the figures of King David at the harp, from whose line Our Lord Jesus was descended and to whom are attributed the Psalms of the Old Testament, and St. Cecilia at the organ, patroness of music during the Christian era. They are the exemplars of the sacred music of the Old and New Testament, respectively.
The 18 Windows of the Apsis
Here are given solemn places of honor the most loved images of Our Blessed Lady in the Philippines, those of Peace and Good Voyage, of Expectation, of Consolation, of Loreto, of the Pillar, of Remedies, of “La Naval,” of the Abandoned, of Carmel, of the Miraculous Medal, of the Rule, of Montserrat, of Lourdes, of Peñafrancia, of Perpetual Help, of Fatima, of Sorrows, and of Nasalambao.
The 4 Windows of the Transept
Overlooking the openings of the lateral naves and the two deambulatories which lead to the gallery, the four large windows in the transept are dedicated to the Sacraments, depicted against a Philippine background as they are being administered, two on each window, and presided by the figure of Christ crucified, from whose death the Sacraments draw their life-giving effects. On the lower part of the panels are etched those decorative motives and symbols relative to the various Sacraments of the Christian faith.
The 2 Windows of the Presbytery
Two large windows open over the lateral walls. Dedicated to the theme of Mary’s regality, they depict the six categories of blessed spirits under her patronage as invoked by the Lauretan Litanies; the Patriarchs; the Prophets; the Apostles; the Martyrs; the Confessors; and the Virgin, to which are added Mary’s titles of Queen of Peace and Queen of the Most Holy Rosary. Transcribed on parchment and strewn with symbolic motives drawn from the whole Marian mystic flora, the windows are finally dominated by the central panels commemorating the Proclamation of the Dogma of her Assumption into Heaven.
The 2 Windows of Deambulatories
The deambulatories are illuminated above the lateral terraces of the apsis by two windows, each subdivided into six panels portraying the twelve most invoked saints in this country. In the vaulted part of the windows are displayed the Stem of the Philippine Republic on one side and the emblem of Manila ’s Archbishop on the other.
The 12 Windows at the End of the Transept
Twelve windows in the apsis are dedicated to the Marian calendar and depict solemnities of the Blessed Virgin Mary every month of the liturgical year.
The 16 Windows of the Lantern of the Dome
The 16 windows of the eight sides of the lantern holding the cupola proclaim other Marian titles as drawn from the Lauretan Litanies, the Song of Songs, the Ecclesiastes, and others. Upholding her symbols is a group of angels as they appear in a fresco on the apsis of the Basilica of Saint Mary in Trastevere, Rome . The drum of the cathedral dome is also designed poetically with 16 stained glass panels. These litany invocations pertaining to Mary include the Mystical Rose, Tower of David , and Ark of the Covenant. With these are also panels portraying the Angel of the Spring-Water Well and the Angel of the Chair of Divine Wisdom.
The 33 Windows of the Chapels
The different chapels alongside the lateral naves of the Manila Cathedral are adorned with stained glass windows but not by Galo Ocampo.
In the Chapel of Mary Help of Christians, the windows portray the Nativity of Our Lord and the Coronation of Mary in Heaven. In the Chapel of the Blessed Souls are displayed in bright colors the Assumption of Mary, the Pentecost, and Mary as Queen of Heaven and earth.
In the Chapel of St. Jude, scenes from the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution are featured with Manila Archbishop Jaime L. Cardinal Sin leading the peaceful uprising together with Fidel V. Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile, and with Mary as the intercessor, the Queen of Peace.
The Chapel of the Santo Niño has pretty colorful glass panels (of the life of St. John the Baptist) where the martyrdom and life of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint, is depicted, while in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or of the Blessed Sacrament, the windows commemorate the institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
At the Chapel of St. Peter, which also functions as a funeral chapel, the windows in polychrome depict scenes from the life of said saint, the first vicar of Christ here on earth.
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Orani, Bataan , and her miracles are captured in glowing colors in the stained glass windows of the Chapel of Ina Poon Bato.
These stained glass windows, though not designed by Ocampo, complement his brilliant works which carry religious and artistic values in a significant measure.
The 3 Windows of the Facade
Dominating the façade of the Manila Cathedral is the central rose window with its 12 rays dedicated to the twelve Apostles. Overlooking the façade of the entrance doors on the left side are windows representing the three Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity) and on the right side are the four Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance). Each is depicted with the traditional iconographic symbols, a striking mark of Ocampo’s artistic style for which he has adapted the different Christian virtues in indigenized form. It is in practicing the seven virtues that a Christian becomes worthy of entering the church, a reason why they appear at the entrance.
