God is light. The Cathedral proclaims this from all its windows, which are open as windows have never been before. Open to creative light. Gothic architecture is the architecture of light, but not harsh light: the Master builders removed the walls in order to install the stained-glass window. The stained-glass window, donated by the Vine-growers and Champagne Houses, creates an atmosphere favourable for meditation and has a symbolic value.

      The lower windows were adorned with stained-glass windows depicting legends. Originally, these stained-glass windows were meant to be read by believers as a big book of images. Unfortunately, the Century of Enlightenment was fatal for them. Between 1739 and 1768, in order to economise as much as possible, the Canons got rid of them and replaced them with clear windows with a border made from a few fragments of the former ones. The war of 1914-18 saw the destruction of roughly half of the 3,500 m2 of surviving stained-glass windows.

       After the conflict, the "Société des Amis de la Cathédrale" (Society of Friends of the Cathedral) founded in 1917 (under the auspices of President Poincaré and Cardinal Luçon), took care of restoring part of the monument's glass adornment, by initiating high-quality creations for the lower parts. In 1937, Jacques Simon placed the little rose for the consecration of the restored Cathedral. The Second World War slowed down the work and it was only in 1954 that the Champagne Stained-glass window was achieved. Since 1950, the President of the Friends of the Cathedral had been Princess Jean de Caraman-Chimay, granddaughter of Albert de Mun. She put all of her energy into reviving the taste for patronage in the business-world.
      She encouraged the support of the Vine-growers and Champagne Houses, and even their foreign agents. The subscription was also open to the innumerable body of lovers of our wines and it united the donations from both the French provinces and a dozen foreign countries.
      On the inauguration day on 1st October 1954 (Saint-Rémi's Day), René Bride, Mayor of Reims and His Grace Marmottin, the Archbishop, welcomed the Ambassador of Belgium, the representatives of The United States, Lady Jebb, the Ambassador of Great Britain, Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones, Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, Members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. They arrived on a special plane and were joined by Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh.

      Nobody was better placed than Jacques Simon to create this stained-glass window. The masterpiece by Pierre Simon, achieved in 1640, reminds us that, since the 17th Century, a whole dynasty of artist-glass makers was established in Reims. Before the Revolution, the Chapter had appointed the Simons as "glass-makers for the church" and the sketches dating from the 19th Century were revealed to be extremely precious for the restoration of the ancient pieces. During the war, Jacques and his team risked their lives to save everything they could during the bombing of the town.
      To design his Champagne stained-glass window, he was inspired by the ones created by the medieval corporate bodies. These combined the work and life of the donors with representations of their Patrons Saints and Biblical scenes. He drew on the symbolism of wine to deliver a meditation on the Eucharist. The entire work includes three lancets, ten metres tall topped by three oculi with a diameter of 2.40 metres.

      In the left-hand window, the vine-growers are busy in the vineyards under the eyes of Saint-Vincent, their patron saint.
      In the centre, they are harvesting before the start, on the right-hand side, of the different phases of vinification around Dom Pérignon, the famous Cellar master of Hautvillers and Saint Jean-Baptiste, patron saint of cellar workers.
      Lower down, the related activities (bottles, corks...) are combined with the alchemy in the cellars.
      On the borders are vine-growers tools (in the middle) and the churches of the forty-four Champagne villages (on the right and the left) complete the work, rooting the masterpiece in the "terroir".
      However, from a terrestrial level, if we raise our eyes, we pass to the divine level. High up on the left, two men struggle to carry the bunch of Canaan, the image of prosperity of the Promised Land and the symbol of Christ on the cross, because Jesus is the bunch whose blood fills the Church chalice.
      The mystical press is situated in the centre: Christ is torn by the suffering caused by our sins and his blood becomes the wine of the Eternal Kingdom. On the right, the miracle of the wedding of Cana extends the Eucharistic symbolism displayed in the three oculi: bread and wine surrounding the sacrificial lamb. From now on, man offers his sacrifice with the fruit of his work, and his work itself is a consented sacrifice for continuing the Creation.

      And, as if by miracle, the appeal fund launched by the Vine-growers and Champagne Houses was not exhausted by this masterpiece, and the remainder allowed Brigitte Simon-Marcq, Jacques' daughter, to accomplish a second stained-glass window in 1961. It is astonishing to discover that the remains of the Champagne Stained-glass window were used for the "Eau Vive" conservatory... It is indeed the theme handled in the western window of the lower wing of the transept, above the baptismal fonts. The artist drew her inspiration from the sad tone of the upper windows. These lattice windows (13th Century) were without doubt designed to let sufficient light in to illuminate the sanctuary. The modern interpretation retains the freshness of blues and greys, while giving them the dynamism of a river over which the Spirit blows.