When Rob Culligan addressed a gathering of people who worked on The Saint John’s Bible and the Heritage Edition on April 26, 2013, it was a momentous occasion – printing of the 299 Heritage Edition sets of The Saint John’s Bible had just been completed.
This was an endeavor that took eight years, two continents, and many contributors and craftspersons to complete. The outcome of these years of painstaking work is that The Saint John’s Bible can now be experienced across the world with people of all faith journeys for generations to come.
We invite you to read Culligan’s words as a reminder of the greatness that can come from faith and perseverance.
A Leap of Faith by Rob Culligan: As spoken on April 26, 2013
Good evening, and welcome to this lovely, warm sunny spring night in Collegeville. For those of you who aren’t from Minnesota, it’s been like this all spring.
As I look around the room tonight at all the wonderful people who have gathered, I wonder: What do we share in common? What unites us?
And the answer is simple: We were all inspired by a wild and wondrous idea – The Saint John’s Bible – and we were crazy enough to dedicate a chunk of our lives – in some instances a few years, in other cases seven, and for some of us diehards 17 years – to the most remarkable spiritual and artistic undertaking of our time.
We were inspired by the vision… we believed in the dream… we drank the kool-aid… we took risks… we persevered.
And it was no small gamble… no minor sacrifice.
We remember in a special way tonight some of our colleagues who are no longer with us… Br. Dietrich Reinhart, Carol Marrin, David Peterson.
Over the years, there’s been a litany of gracious things said and written about The Saint John’s Bible. Newsweek magazine called it “America’s Book of Kells.” Sister Wendy Beckett proclaimed it “a masterpiece… a divine inspiration… a Holy splendor.” Upon seeing The Saint John’s Bible Apostles Edition, Pope Benedict proclaimed: “It is a work for eternity.” And perhaps the best descriptor of all came from Donald Jackson, who simply referred to it as “providence.”
Based on all this praise it would appear that there has always been widespread and unanimous support for The Saint John’s Bible. But I assure you, there was a time when this was not the case. We had our share of skeptics and detractors. People were tentative and unsure.
It was a bit like calming the storm at sea…
In the earliest days of the project, Br. Dietrich and I explained to an alumnus that we were going to commission the first handwritten Bible since the advent of the printing press, and he promptly responded: “You know, maybe there’s a reason no one has attempted to do this in 500 years.”
To be fair, even Donald may have had some doubts along the way. In an interview with Smithsonian magazine, he joked that he was going to create T-shirts with The Saint John’s Bible logo on the front, and on the back it would say: “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
In an article in the American Benedictine Review, Fr. Terrence Kardong wrote of The Saint John’s Bible: “Every now and then an idea comes along that is simply breathtaking. Either it is brilliant or it is utterly silly.” He went on to say that “The Saint John’s Bible is one of those ideas” … and then he waxed eloquent about the power and beauty of this project.
In a similar vein, the great manuscript expert Christopher de Hamel has described The Saint John’s Bible as “either utter madness or good fortune.”
Utterly silly, sure folly, utter madness…
What in the world were we thinking?
What was going through Fr. Eric Hollas’ mind when he had the guts to mention this idea to Br. Dietrich, or for Br. Dietrich to bring it forth to the monastic community? As he would later say, “I need this like a hole in the head.” Or when Donald went before the monastic community and said: “Do you want it? Do you want me to make the Word of God live on a page?” And even more remarkable, they responded, “We want it.”
As it turns out, it’s a good thing that we were all a bit crazy… that we listened perhaps even more to our hearts than our minds.
As I look back on my long association with The Saint John’s Bible, a flood of wonderful memories come to mind. I used to describe my involvement with The Saint John’s Bible as a blessing and a labor of love. And it has been. But there’s more to it than that. For all of us associated with The Saint John’s Bible, it has been “A Leap of Faith.”
At every stage of this project – from the genesis of the idea, through the planning process, through the creation of the original manuscript Bible and the Heritage Edition, through the marketing sales process, and the educational, artistic and spiritual programming – it took an enormous amount of faith to venture forward.
It required a remarkable collection of people to catch the spirit, to trust in each other, and to believe that it can and should be done.
Today I looked up the definition of faith: confidence or trust in a person or a thing; belief that is not based on truth; or my favorite, believing without seeing.
This type of faith, this type of folly, this type of perseverance… is truly uncommon in our world today.
It took a leap of faith by four Saint John’s presidents (Br. Dietrich Reinhart, Dan Whalen, Fr. Bob Koopmann and Dr. Michael Hemesath) and two Abbots (Abbot Timothy and Abbot John) to affirm and reaffirm the bold decision to embark on a seven-year, multimillion-dollar venture to create the Heritage Edition. And it took a lot of trust and determination (and Pepto Bismol) by others – Fr. Columba, Bill Cahoy, Dick Adamson, Peter Dwyer – to stand by these decisions and to launch a daunting and risky enterprise.
It took a leap of faith for Donald Jackson to serve as the artistic director for the Heritage Edition, after already spending a dozen years creating the original Saint John’s Bible, to say nothing of the quantum leap that it took for his wife Mabel to say, “I’ll commit as well.”
Donald directed every page of every volume to ensure that the way in which the Heritage Edition was interpreted was consistent with the artistic intent and spirit of the original. We can all be pleased that the Heritage Edition lives up to Donald’s vision of it being a “phenomenon of artistic interpretation.”
Along the way Donald and his team introduced us to a whole new glossary of terms, such as “scrutching,” “visual voiceprints,” and “undulation.” Who knew?
It took a leap of faith for John Parfitt to make numerous trips from England to Minnesota to serve as the artistic printing consultant for Donald Jackson, and for Donald’s Studio Manager, Sarah Harris, to do the same. It also took a lot of elbow grease — she hand-sanded many of the illuminations in Historical Books and Gospels & Acts, ensuring that no two volumes are alike.
After traveling the world over visiting with facsimile companies in England, Austria and Italy, it took a leap of faith for our own Dave Peterson to say: “I have a revolutionary new way to create a printed edition of a manuscript. In time, this printing technique would be nominated for a prestigious Techne Award. They called it: “One of the most innovative printing projects since Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15th century. Creating the Heritage Edition required the latest advancements in digital imaging, color science and ultra-high resolution offset lithographic printing.”
Speaking of high-resolution digital imaging, it took a leap of faith for Colormax, right here in Central Minnesota, to tackle the monumental job of imaging the entire Saint John’s Bible.
It took a leap of faith for The John Roberts Company to embrace Dave Peterson’s vision and to invest in a multimillion-dollar Heidelberg press so that stochastic printing could be used in combination with UV inks and multiple custom colors to bring the images to life and ensure their longevity. And, of course, it wasn’t just the equipment – a team of dedicated and skilled technicians and printers committed seven years to this atypical project as well.
It was also a leap of faith…for Monadnock Paper Mills in Bennington, New Hampshire to make a new 100% cotton stock paper — with no artificial whiteners or brighteners, coatings or fillers — to approximate the weight and thickness of the vellum used in the original Saint John’s Bible. I can only imagine their reaction when they were approached by a monastery in Central Minnesota asking for truckloads of archival paper that will last for generations. Truly, their paper stands alone!
It took a leap of faith for David McIntosh and other artisans and pressmen at McIntosh Embossing to develop a technique for gold and silver treatment using multiple layers of foil with strategic embossing to emulate the original. It didn’t take long for them to discover firsthand that “Donald’s penchant for retaining arcane detail, and his charming skill of persuasion knows no bounds.”
It took a leap of faith for Roswell Bookbinding in Arizona to round up enough Italian calfskin to cover the boards that bind the Heritage Edition volumes along with unique silver and gold decorative clasps and embossings specific to each volume that adorn each cover.
It took a leap of faith for the Saint John’s Woodworking shop to design and build custom fabricated display cabinets to showcase and safely house the Heritage Edition volumes. These displays are created from white oak harvested from the woods at Saint John’s with a beautiful inlaid Welsh oak. They are meticulously handcrafted and will grace venues around the world for decades upon decades to come.
It took a leap of faith… for a legion of leaders and spokespersons – Tim Ternes, Fr. Eric, Fr. Columba, Fr. Michael Patella, Bill Cahoy, Barbara Sutton, Abbot John, Nicky Carpenter and others – to travel the world over spreading the Good News of The Saint John’s Bible.
It took a leap of faith for a brave, determined and ambitious marketing and sales team — Jim Secord, Craig Bruner, Jim Triggs, David Allaway, Michael Bush, Kerry Werlinger, Connie Carlson – to promote the Heritage Edition. Just think, here they were selling a product that didn’t exist – the original wasn’t even done yet – in the middle of a recession, and the last volume wouldn’t be delivered for seven years. What guts! Nerves of steel!
It took a leap of faith by a special group of gullible and naive (I mean faithful and generous) benefactors to purchase the Apostles Editions and Heritage Editions.
It took a leap of faith for a host of others, more than 100 strong, to support the Heritage Edition through educational and spiritual programs, to track and record sales and donations, to chronicle names and dedications, to plan events and exhibitions, design invitations and newsletters, maintain websites, and lug and balance the books…
And last but not least… it took a leap of faith by two extraordinary women – Mabel Jackson and Jo White – to be both the inspiration for The Saint John’s Bible and to be the voice of reason along the way. We are forever grateful for their wisdom, their sensibilities and their grace, leading us down this path of light and love and faith. As it is said, “Behind every successful man… is a very surprised mother-in-law.” Thank you, Mabel… thank you Jo.
So, what brings us together tonight? What do we share in common? What unites us? We were all courageous enough to take a giant leap of faith.
Amen.