The stained-glass piece above the tabernacle stands out as a beautiful colorful symbol at Sacred Heart. The history of the piece and how it came to be is rather emotional for me.  During a meeting with Father Bill, I had expressed to him that I wanted to honor my dear brother Chico, who passed away on April 20, 2011 by donating something in his memory.  He had such a great connection to Sacred Heart and we both thought that a stained-glass piece would be a great tribute to such a wonderful person.   
 
Chico was such an inspiring figure to me, not just as a brother, but as a great father, husband, son and role model.  He was the epitome of all anyone could have asked for in a brother.  When cancer took him away from us at the young age of 38, he, unfortunately, left behind his wife Kristine and his three little girls, Anna, Emily and Julie, who he would be so proud of today.  
 
There is not a day that goes by that we don't think of him, but we do take comfort in knowing that he is up there in Heaven looking down upon all of us with his warm genuine smile.  Having this stained-glass piece dedicated to his memory serves as a constant reminder that his presence is always with us.
 
While working on the element with architect Joe McPhee, we decided we wanted the piece to pop with bright colors and include a 3-d effect, as well as incorporating the current Sacred Heart symbol.  After some brainstorming sessions, Joe came up with a rendering that brought together everything we were looking for.  It included small heart pressed glass coins around the outer frame as well a large heart in the middle made up of protruding rose petals, creating the    3-d effect we were looking for.  In addition, there was a bent cross made out of rebar placed over the heart in the center of the piece, much like the design of the current Sacred Heart symbol.  There would also be an inscription at the bottom that reads," in memory of Francisco Claro." After a few minor modifications to the conceptual plan, it was sent out to Hot Glass Works in VT for fabrication.  The piece took approximately 3 months to fabricate and was delivered and installed in October of 2016.   With the addition of backlighting, we achieved our goal of making the piece feel," vibrant and alive, but also warm and inviting."  When I saw it installed for the first time I was impressed by the level of detail and craftsmanship, but most of all by how it made me feel, knowing that such a beautiful symbol honoring Chico's legacy would always be a part of Sacred Heart.