Echoes from the Bell Tower

What makes a picture good? Certainly, the picture needs to be in focus, properly exposed, with good light and excellent use of composition. It’s even better if the photo can tell a story without words. But there is one thing that trumps all of that – moment. The photograph must have a moment or emotion. In my opinion, a picture can be lacking everything and still be a good picture if there is emotion.

A picture with a moment will make the viewer feel something. It will cause them to connect with the subjects in the photo, gain a greater understanding of what it means to be human and, hopefully, make the world a better place.

What makes a good picture is also subjective. An image of my children will probably cause me to feel more than it would for someone who had never met them or someone who is not a parent.

As we cull through the thousands of photos taken at Saint Meinrad in 2021, this is what we look for. Images that make us feel. We also look for images that tell the story of what happened this year.

As with any year, there were moments of great joy and deep sadness. Life at Saint Meinrad slowly returned to a pre-pandemic “normal” during 2021. The year began with our faces masked and the campus closed to the public.

Over the summer, smaller groups were welcomed back to the Hill for the “One Bread, One Cup” youth conferences and for an in-person Alumni Reunion. And during the fall, the monastic community opened the Archabbey Church to the public, and retreats and workshops on campus resumed with extra precautions in place.

As you look through our 2021 Year in Pictures, I hope you feel. I hope you feel those moments of great joy and the solemn moments of prayer, and you walk through the times of deep sadness with the monks. It is that emotion that connects us all.