Artwork in Driscoll Hall

Chapel - Stained Glass Window

The chapel window, crafted by Vetrate Artistiche Toscane in Siena, Italy, was designed by Rev. Richard G. Cannuli, O.S.A., and illustrates key figures in nursing history as well as a contemporary nursing student.

Panel 1: Blessed Marie-Catherine of St. Augustine, a French nursing sister of St. Augustine who dedicated her life to the sick in Quebec. The panel depicts Blessed Marie-Catherine in the Augustinian habit of a nursing sister. She holds two Huron children. The baby holds a doll and the young girl holds a hoop and stick, a simple toy used by Native American children. To the left is the burning and pierced heart part of the seal of the Augustinian order. On the lower left side is a ship on the seas, the transportation she used to arrive in New France. The maple leaf symbolizes Canada and her place of death, and a fleur-de-lis symbolizes France, Blessed Marie-Catherine’s place of birth.

Panel 2: Saint Fabiola, a Roman matron of nobility who devoted herself to the needs of the Church and the care of the poor and suffering. The panel depicts Fabiola in the clothing of her day. The Roman column symbolizes her citizenship. The letters SPQR are the initials from a Latin phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus (“The Senate and the People of Rome” or “The Senate and Roman People”), and was used as an official signature of the government. With her right hand, Fabiola is depicted as blessing and protecting the College of Nursing which she holds in her left hand. The clover signifies the Irish Augustinians who founded the province of St. Thomas of Villanova and established Villanova University.

Panel 3: Florence Nightingale, the creator of modern nursing, a pioneer in nursing education, reformer of hospital sanitation methods, and a leader in the development of applied statistics. The panel depicts Nightingale – often called the Lady with the Lamp – in the clothing of her day. Above her head are the stars of the night and a crescent shape moon for the time she spent in the Crimean. There she used her lamp to illuminate her path while caring for the wounded. The branch of leaves symbolizes vegetation that is used to develop medications.

Panel 4: Villanova University student. The student is wearing the Villanova nursing uniform and a stethoscope. His left hand, placed over his heart, symbolizes caritas, the love that one should have for another. The scroll indicates the year that the College was founded. The Chi-Rho anchor symbolizes hope in Christ, the gentle healer. The fish and the sea represent The College of Nursing’s longstanding relationship with the United States Navy Nurse Corps. The upper panel depicts the spires of the church of St. Thomas of Villanova, a campus landmark.