LAUDATO SI
Laudato sie, mi signore, cun tucte le tue creature’
Cantico del Frate Sole
Franciscus (Francis), a man for all seasons
All photos and designs on this page remain the property of Birgit Verplancke, both intellectually and in form.
Sponsors
Heer & Mevrouw Yves en Linda Carton – Sticker
Heer & Mevrouw Henri en Mireille Claeys-Convent
Familie T., J. & L. De Baecke
Heer & Mevrouw Eric en Maria Lambert – Plasschaert
Baron en Barones Charles-Albert Peers de Nieuwburgh
Familie van der Plancke
Jonkheer en Mevrouw Louis van Lennep-Barones Snoy, Henri, Victoria, Alexis en Harold
I would like to express, with great warmth and gratitude, my heartfelt thanks to a number of people who made it possible for us to design and realize this Francis window.
First of all, the church council not only embraced this idea ; the sponsors, whose generous support made this artwork possible.
For me it is a great privilege to be able to contribute to an age-old tradition, to walk in the footsteps of the many glaziers who, before us, shaped our cultural heritage with their art and craftsmanship. With this Francis window, we wanted old and new to meet – not by replacing the entire window, but by giving Francis – simple and near – his place within the existing lozenges, right here among you.
Creating a new window is so much more than bringing together glass and lead. It is a dialogue between past and present. For if we only preserve what is old without adding something of our own, we pass nothing on of our own spirit of the times. Century after century, people have added their voices. Through this commission, we too were given the chance to help shape history – a voice of today, joining the voices of the past.
That is why I wish, with pride and gratitude, to place my wonderful team in the spotlight. For without them, this window would never have gained the same soul. To each of them, my deepest thanks, for their passion, their dedication, and the countless hours of work embodied in this window.
About Francis of Assissi ….
Wie is hij voor ons?
2025 … following a long tradition
With this stained glass window, we place ourselves in the tradition of the many craftsmen throughout the centuries who created windows for churches. Not only for their aesthetic value, but also to convey a message to the community that passed through the church. For too long in Flanders, we have focused only on the past. Honoring that rich past is important, but at times we forgot that this century, this generation of craftsmen, can also contribute to our cultural heritage. That is why we are very pleased that, alongside the rich history of stained glass windows in the Church of Saint Peter in Oostkamp, a contemporary window could also be created: the Francis window. Not portraying a figure from a distant past, but a Francis who could be any one of us.
Het maken van
Elk detail wordt op het raam geschilderd: niet alleen het hoofd van Franciscus, maar ook de dieren hoe groot of klein ze ook zijn, de bladeren… Elk stuk glas passeert zo verschillende malen de oven…. dit dagen, weken, na elkaar. Ook andere technieken vergen hun tijd, zoals glasapplictaties (het verlijmen) bij de paddenstoel….
De Plaatsing
Eens een ontwerp gemaakt is en het glasraam ‘bestaat’ moet het ook nog geplaatst worden. En dat is niet altijd vanzelfsprekend. Je kan tal van zaken tegenkomen die de uiteindelijke plaatsing tot ‘a piece of cake’ maken of tot het begin van een lijdensweg. We wilden ook niet zomaar een nieuw raam steken. De nieuwe delen doorbreken de oude, door de oude losanges breekt het nieuwe door ….
Each detail is painted on the window: not only the head of Francis, but also every animal great or small, the leaves… Each piece of glass passes through the kiln several times… days and weeks following each other. Other techniques also take time, such as glass applications (gluing).
Once a design has been made and the stained glass window ‘exists’, it still needs to be installed. And that is not always easy peasy. You may encounter many things that make the final installation a piece of cake or the beginning of an ordeal. It wasn’t just installing an new window, no, we wanted the neuw one to pop out of the old one;;;;
