Dutch cathedral unveils 9/11 attack in stained glass

By Gilbert Kreijger

DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (Reuters) - A new stained glass window in a Dutch cathedral that contains an image of the World Trade Center attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people was blessed on Sunday by a Dutch bishop.

The window, built up of about twenty different panes with representations of heaven and hell, has the WTC pane at the bottom showing "hell on earth", its maker Marc Mulders said.

The pane shows an airplane about to crash in one of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.

"It was an assignment by the church to make a stained glass window that was related to the spirit of this time," Mulders 48, said on his Web site, adding that he sees the WTC attacks as an image that speaks vividly to all people.

The window in the Sint Jan cathedral in Den Bosch, a city in the south of the Netherlands, has attracted the attention of the world's media press because of the Twin Tower image, pastor Geert Jan van Rossem said.

Van Rossem said he expected the window to cause reflection from those who saw it.

"Innocent civilians were killed, that is shocking and makes people think," he said.

A small crowd applauded and praised the window's bright colors when the bishop revealed the stained glass window.