In an era where artificial intelligence can generate images in seconds, a Texas-based stained glass studio is championing patience and tradition with commissions that can take up to 18 months to complete. Episode 2 of The Cavallini Legacy, hosted by Justin McKenzie on The Building Texas Show, offers an inside look at Cavallini & Co., a studio that has designed and installed handcrafted, architect-grade sacred art for congregations across Texas and beyond for more than 70 years. Published May 27, 2026, the episode arrives as houses of worship rebuild and restore amid rising interest in artisan craftsmanship.
The conversation explores the extensive process behind each window, from developing themes in dialogue with parishioners—often tracing Old Testament to New Testament narratives from Creation and Moses to the Nativity, Resurrection, and Ascension—to the hidden structural engineering inside every panel. This includes the rebars that transfer weight to the frame and prevent the glass and lead from bowing under its own weight. The episode underscores why no AI template can replicate the result, a point McKenzie drives home: “Employees coming in here working on a project that might take a year and a half to complete because it is detail-oriented or it's 50,000 square feet of mosaic that takes detail and time. It's not AI is going to create it in 30 seconds and here it is. And I worry for our economy and our workforce on how do we bring that patience back to something as meaningful as the work you're doing.”
The episode's centerpiece is the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary commission. After a natural gas explosion destroyed the original Houston church and claimed a parishioner's life, the congregation began building anew. Cavallini had purchased the Mysteries of the Rosary windows from the Diocese of Beaumont 18 years earlier—Munich-style windows salvaged from St. Mary's Catholic Church in Port Arthur after Hurricane Rita—stored them, and recognized their fit for the new sacred space. Adrian Cavallini sent photographs to a committee member who, in the elder Cavallini's words, “just fell in love with them.” The studio is now creating the Luminous Mysteries to blend with the existing set, completing a cycle that began with Hurricane Rita and now spans generations of Texas congregations.
The implications of this announcement extend beyond individual churches. As congregations rebuild and restore, the demand for authentic, handcrafted sacred art underscores a broader cultural tension between speed and substance. The 18-month timeline for a single window challenges the modern pace of design and raises questions about the value of patience in an economy increasingly driven by instant gratification. For the industry, Cavallini’s approach highlights the irreplaceable role of skilled artisans in preserving architectural heritage and spiritual storytelling. For listeners, the episode offers a rare glimpse into a world where craft and faith intersect, and where a window can take nearly two years to complete—a testament to the enduring power of human hands over algorithms.
