The windows are each topped by a round pane with a symbol usually related to the main window topic.
Each window is described below. Clicking on each picture displays the Gospel passage illustrated.
The round pane above contains the insignia of the American Legion. Whether or not the pane originally contained another symbol is unknown. If not, this pane dates the windows shortly after World War I.
Peter receiving the keys to heaven is portrayed in the second window. The event recorded here is Peter's admission that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus then announced that Simon was to be called Peter (rock), and upon this rock, He would build His church and he would give Peter the keys of heaven. The keys of heaven have been a symbol for St. Peter and the papacy since the early centuries of the church.
The round pane above contains the Knights of Columbus logo. Again, it is not known whether this pane replaced an earlier one.
The Agony in the Garden is the topic of the third window. Although the gospel passage tells of an angel which was sent to to give Him strength, the angel in the window is shown presenting Jesus a cup, which represents the suffering He is about to endure. Christ prayed that, if possible, this "cup" should pass without his having to drink from it, but that, in the end, the Father's will should be done.
Above the depiction of Christ and the angel is a crown of thorns, again referring to the passion which Christ is about to endure.
The Crucifixion is portrayed in the fourth window. This window is unusual in that the cross is wholly contained in the right pane. Mary is depicted in the left frame, along with the young apostle John, to whom Jesus entrusts his mother. Another disciple is shown in tears at his Master's feet. Perhaps this is Peter, already regretting his denial of Christ last night. At the foot of the cross is a skull, reminding us that Golgotha is the "skull place."
Above the crucifixion is a very dark image of a snake in a branch, referring to the temptation of Adam and Eve by the devil in the form of a serpent. Just as Original Sin visited mankind through the serpent in a tree, salvation came through Christ hung on the tree of the Cross.
Christ's rising from the dead is the subject of the last window. This window, which would be radiant if exposed to the sun, has been in shadow for eighty years because of its proximity to the rectory, a three-story building immediately to the west of the church. Christ is shown triumphantly carrying a banner emblazoned with the cross, while a Roman guard sleeps under the gaze of an angel.
Above this scene is a round pane with a reclining lamb, holding the same banner as held by Christ in the main window. Through Christ's sacrificial death, we are redeemed, just as through the sacrifice of a lamb, the Israelites were spared the deaths of their first born during Passover in Egypt. During Mass, we address Jesus as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.