In a town settled by families from half of Europe, a parish church filled its windows with saints from every corner of the Church.

Little Europe

Prnjavor lies in the Ukrina valley in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, not far from Banja Luka. After Austria Hungary took over Bosnia in 1878, settlers came here from all over the empire and beyond: Italians, Czechs, Poles, Germans, Ukrainians and Hungarians, and later others. About 20 peoples ended up living side by side, and the town has been called Little Europe ever since.

The Catholic parish church is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua and belongs to the Diocese of Banja Luka. It is a bright, simple hall with a barrel vault and a row of tall round arched windows down each side.

A row of new arched stained glass windows of the saints between the Stations of the Cross, Church of Saint Anthony of Padua, Prnjavor — The windows along the nave

The commission

On 30 May 2013 the parish, represented by its pastor, Monsignor Vlado Lukenda, signed the agreement with Atelje Stanišić (Stanisic Studio) in Sombor, represented by its owner, Stevan Stanisic, 4th generation of the family studio.

It covered 11 new windows with different saints, about 431 square feet of glass. Each nave window is about 3 ft 7 in wide and 11 ft 7 in high, with a round arched top. The 11th window, for the sanctuary, shows Saint Anthony of Padua, the patron of the church. The studio also made and fitted new metal frames for the windows. It restored the broken parts of the rose window on the facade, about 6 ft 3 in across, and of the half round window above the entrance, about 7 ft 3 in across.

The windows were installed in October 2013.

From sketch to window

The studio first drew sketches and reworked them until the parish was fully happy. The approved sketches were enlarged to full size in 2 copies, and from them the templates were cut for every piece of glass.

The glass itself is factory colored, chosen from the studio's large stock. Faces, hands, robes, shadows and volume were then painted on it by hand with iron oxide paints and fired in the kiln at about 1,200°F, so that the painting becomes part of the glass and resists sun, frost and condensation for good. Finally every window was leaded, sealed with liquid putty on both sides and carried to Prnjavor to be set in its frame.

The saints

Every window has the same frame: a golden border, a quatrefoil at the top, a band of blue and yellow diamonds at the foot, and in the middle an oval of landscape and sky with the saints. Below each scene is the name of the family who gave the window.

Saint Anthony of Padua holds the Child Jesus and a lily, with children gathered at his feet and a small church behind him. Our Lady of Fatima stands above the 3 shepherd children, under the words "Moli za nas!", pray for us.

Stained glass window of Saint Anthony of Padua holding the Child Jesus and a lily, with children at his feet, Prnjavor

Saint Anthony of Padua Stained glass window of Our Lady of Fatima with the 3 shepherd children and the words Moli za nas, Prnjavor

Our Lady of Fatima

The family of Nazareth has 2 windows: the Holy Family, with the young Jesus between Mary and Joseph, and Saint Joseph alone, holding the Child and his lily.

Stained glass window of the Holy Family, Mary, Joseph and the young Jesus with open arms, Prnjavor

The Holy Family Stained glass window of Saint Joseph holding the Child Jesus and a lily, Prnjavor

Saint Joseph

Saint Anne teaches the young Mary, and John baptizes Christ in the Jordan under the dove of the Holy Spirit.

Stained glass window of Saint Anne with the young Mary, Prnjavor

Saint Anne and Mary Stained glass window of the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan by Saint John the Baptist, Prnjavor

The Baptism of Christ

Saints Cyril and Methodius, the brothers who brought the faith and the first Slavic alphabet to the Slavs, hold a scroll written in Glagolitic letters. Beside them another window shows a bearded saint with a scroll and a lamb at his side.

Stained glass window of Saints Cyril and Methodius holding a scroll with Glagolitic letters, Prnjavor

Saints Cyril and Methodius Stained glass window of a bearded saint in a red robe with a scroll and a lamb, Prnjavor

A saint with a scroll and a lamb

The newest faces in the church are Saint Vitus, the young martyr of the early Church, with the palm of victory, and Blessed Ivan Merz, a layman of our own time in a grey suit, standing between Saint Peter's dome in Rome and the twin spires of a cathedral. Ivan Merz was born in Banja Luka in 1896, and Pope John Paul II beatified him there on 22 June 2003, just 10 years before these windows were made.

Stained glass window of Saint Vitus, the young martyr, with a palm branch, Prnjavor

Saint Vitus Stained glass window of Blessed Ivan Merz in a grey suit, with the dome of Saint Peter's and twin cathedral spires behind him, Prnjavor

Blessed Ivan Merz

Above the children of one window, a guardian angel spreads her wings and keeps them on the path.

Stained glass detail of a guardian angel watching over a boy and a girl on a path among flowers, Prnjavor — The guardian angel

See more of our stained glass commissions and sacred art.

Church: Church of Saint Anthony of Padua, Prnjavor, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Pastor: Monsignor Vlado Lukenda
Work: 11 new stained glass windows of the saints, about 431 sq ft, new metal frames, repairs to the rose window and the entrance window
Fabrication: Stanisic Studio, Sombor, Republic of Serbia
Agreement: 30 May 2013
Installation: October 2013

Saints for Little Europe: 11 Stained Glass Windows for Saint Anthony in Prnjavor

Little Europe

The commission

From sketch to window

The saints

Stained Glass | Private Villa

Let's create something extraordinary.