Guardian Angel  and St Agatha two-light

Immaculate Conception and St Anne two-light

St John of God and St Bridget two-light

St Thomas Aquinas and St Thomas two-light

St Joseph single light

Generous donors were soon found for windows in the nave, which were expected to be installed in September 1887.  On the Gospel side of the nave Guardian Angel and St Agatha were to be the gift of the Society of the Children of Mary and the grandchildren of Mrs Peters of Broadmeadows were intending to donate The Immaculate Conception and St Anne.  Opposite, on the Epistle side, were St John of God and St Bridget, given by Mrs Donnelly of Junee in memory of her late husband. Next to it were St Elizabeth and St Angela, gift of Mr L Ryan of Wallendoon in memory of his daughter who was killed in an accident the showgrounds in the previous year.[1]

Fig 1: William Montgomery, St John of God and Saint Bridget, 1887, St Michael’s Catholic Church (now Cathedral), Wagga Wagga NSW

One light was reported to be underway, a votive gift from Mrs Montgomery, presumably Harriet, William Montgomery’s devout Catholic wife.  Unfortunately, the saint remains unnamed in the press, however it is likely to have been either St Thomas Aquinas or St Thomas, one of which was installed in memory of Thomas John McAlister.  A Miss Jones was also reportedly presenting a window, but this too remained unnamed and unrecorded.  It may be St Joseph, a single light with the same quarry background format as the other installations from this period.

Fig. 2: William Montgomery, Saint Thomas, St Thomas Aquinas and Saint Joseph, 1887, St Michael’s Catholic Church,(now Cathedral, Wagga Wagga NSW.  Note: St Thomas Aquinas partially obscured by confessionals (1999).

Despite the drive to fill all the windows with a plethora of Catholic saints, there remained several plain quarry windows at the time of the grand dedication in October 1887, but it was anticipated these would be filled in the months to come.

[1] Wagga Wagga Advertiser, 30 August 1887, p. 2.  It is not clear whether all these subjects were final selections as not all appear extant in the Cathedral.