The new stained-glass windows

200 m² of contemporary stained-glass dedicated to Saint Martin has been installed in the north arm of the transept, which has housed the Saint Martin altar since the 19th century. Its creation draws on the latest techniques of printing on glass and on new technologies including computer-aided processes.

These windows tell the story of Saint Martin, taking up the narrative character of the old stained-glass.

Brief description of the windows

  • The artist does not hesitate to set scenes from current events alongside reproductions of works by great painters inspired by the life of the saint. This is the case in the so-called “sharing” window, on the nave side, where the beggar from El Greco’s “Saint Martin and the Beggar” sits next to the tents of undocumented migrants along the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris. View
  • The right-hand window, known as the “children” window (the children the artist met while making the windows), evokes the image of the young Christian community around its shepherd, portrayed with the features of Pope Benedict XVI, with the church and its bell tower in the background. View
  • Opposite, the left-hand window shows the Saint Martin popular festivals still alive today in maritime Flanders, with children’s processions carrying lanterns, and the donkey parades in Picardy. View
  • The right-hand window is that of shared values and exchanges around the veneration of Saint Martin, with pilgrims in Tours, in front of the cathedral, and in Candes-Saint-Martin, in front of the collegiate church. Since 2005, Tours has held the title of “Centre Culturel Européen Saint Martin de Tours” (Saint Martin of Tours European Cultural Centre). View
  • Beneath the great windows, many figures bring the glazed triforium to life, echoing the donors shown beneath the rose. Here we find passers-by, surprised walkers, onlookers and admirers won over by these windows, as well as the artist Gérard Collin-Thiébaut and the master glassmaker Pierre-Alain Parot. View
  • At the top of the glazed triforium, visitors discover the churches and cathedrals dedicated to Saint Martin, a reminder that the fame of the great saint knows no borders. View

With these new windows, the cathedral of Tours can be regarded as one of the very first religious monuments in France to present a new generation of stained-glass on such a scale.