The Church Windows of St. Ann

This window honors Saint Charles Lwanga, an African martyr who opposed efforts to restore paganism in Uganda. He was martyred alongside more than twenty other Christians for his faith. The window reflects the parish's proud origins as a Black Catholic community and its deep roots in African Catholic heritage.

Known as the "Saint of the Impossible," Saint Jude is depicted alongside the symbols of Mack's Barber Shop on Gillespie Street — the humble space that first served as the parish's church. The window commemorates the faith of the early Black Catholic community in Fayetteville who worshiped in that barbershop during 1939 and 1940.

Saint Eugene de Mazenod, founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, was struck by the religious ignorance and indifference widespread after the French Revolution and dedicated his life to missionary work among the poor. This window celebrates the Oblate order's founding and their ministry at St. Ann since the parish's earliest days.

Saint Ann, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the parish patroness. The window tells of how Boston's Saint Ann Church raised funds for a young priest, Father John Hennessy, which the Bishop directed toward building this Fayetteville parish — uniting two communities across distance in the bonds of faith.

Saint Patrick Parish was the "ecclesiastical mother" of St. Ann — the original Fayetteville Catholic parish that supported and aided St. Ann's founding efforts. This window honors that lineage and the generations of Irish-American Catholics who helped establish the faith in Fayetteville.

This window pays tribute to the brave men and women of Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base who have worshiped at St. Ann. Saint Michael the Archangel — patron of soldiers and guardian of the Church — watches over the military faithful. The window bears the insignia of the All-American 82nd Airborne Division and the XVIII Airborne Corps.

A 5th-century Doctor of the Church and Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, Saint Augustine is a towering African intellectual and spiritual father. This window honors the parish's educational mission, supported by the Catholic Negro-American Mission Board, and celebrates the opening of St. Ann Catholic School in September 1956.

The final window expresses the deepest hope of St. Ann Parish: "a community of Faithful in Christ where there is neither Black nor White, bond nor free, but all are one in the Love of God." Under the mantle of Mary, Mother of the Church, the parish has striven since its founding to embody this unity.