MONK IN NEBRASKA
LIFE MAGAZINE
AMERICAN DREAMERS was an assignment from LIFE Magazine. Father Stevens, a Catholic Monk dreamed of building a remote monastery of contemplation and silence. He found the right location in the middle of a Nebraska corn field and built the Tintern Monastery, in honor of the Tintern Abbey, founded in the 12th century. His dream was to house and care for monks in residence that would study and learn scripture in silence. He would be the only one to speak with the outside world. He was a small man, like a wise Elf delighted with his mission of learning, a lover of photography and the community that believed in his dream. It was a piece of heaven there. Even crawling over the corn stalks to set up the photograph was a soft, inviting experience. He attained that dream, for how long, I do not know. But for however long it lasted, it had an effect beyond eternity for those who witnessed the magic of its birth.
