There's more to Fishers church campus than is seen from the road out front

I've driven past St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church on Hague Road in Fishers, Ind., countless times commuting to Lee Ann's former home or the home of her daughter, both of which are in the Sunblest subdivision just north of East 116th Street and east of Allisonville Road.

The wife of a work colleague at The Indianapolis Star was a member of the congregation probably since or shortly after its founding in 1978, although that was before construction of the current church and school facilities. So I've always had some interest in coming back to the campus for a photo documentation. That day happened on Labor Day last week, as I was returning to Lee Ann's daughter's house where we were staying during a recent visit to the Indy area over the holiday.

I picked a good day for it; because it was a holiday, the campus was deserted except for a mother and child enjoying the playground equipment in the far exterior of the property.

And speaking of the property's exterior ... once you get behind the church -- the sanctuary is the only church structure visible to motorists passing on Hague Road -- you come upon a visually impressive campus.

For starters, there is a grotto with a circular prayer labyrinth and bench where one can sit and enjoy the scenery. Sprinkled about in the same vicinity, there is an outdoor Stations of the Cross for Catholics to indulge (for the benefit of non-Catholic, the Stations of the Cross is a traditional Lenten devotion commemorating Jesus' last moments on Earth, beginning with his condemnation by Pilate. Catholics stop at each of 14 pictorial (in what appears to be stained glass) "stations" to remember each step of Jesus' journey to Calvary).

The campus also has a school (which opened in 2000), a playground, soccer field, community hall, youth ministry facility and parish offices. And in separate places on the parking lot asphalt in front of the school, there are paintings of rosary beads and a map of the United States. I guess it's one of those things you have to see to appreciate. Or ... simply take in my pictures. :-)

As always, to view a larger, sharper version of a photo, simply click on the image. This is particularly helpful when accessing the blog from a mobile device. To view a full gallery of the shoot at St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church, click on the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: I did the entire shoot with my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens equipped with a B+W polarizing filter. I took three slightly different exposures (one as metered, one 2/3 stop over and one 2/3 stop under metered), which I blended into a single frame in post-processing using Photomatix high-dynamic range (HDR) software. Most of the shots were taken at f/8 and 100 ISO (or close to 100 ISO), although in extremely shady areas I boosted the ISO to much higher levels. I used the shutter as my variable for the differing exposures for each composition.

The most distinguishing feature of the church exterior is the Guardian Angel Bell Tower and crucifix (above), donated in 1993 by parishioner John Burkhard in memory of his wife, Beryl, who had died the previous year. A closeup of the bell appears below, and a closeup of the statue that you see in the bottom of the photo above ... is in the second photo below. According to a plaque on the brick inside the tower cove, the bell was cast for St. Bridget parish in Logansport, Ind., in 1887. I don't know the story behind how it eventually came to rest at St. Louis de Montfort, but the plaque indicated it was dedicated at its current location in 1993. 

The front facade of Craig Willy Hall, the community gathering spot (above), and the circular prayer labyrinth (below) near the grotto, bench and Stations of the Cross, one of which (the one where Jesus falls for the third time while carrying his cross to Mount Calvary) is shown in the second photo below. 

Above is a perspective shot of the grotto, and the two photos immediately below are closeups of a young woman praying (she is just outside the left side of the photo above) and the young man, who is at the right in the photo above.  

Above: The bench near the grotto, circular prayer labyrinth and stained-glass pictures for the Stations of the Cross. 

A view of the school facade and adjacent playground (above). The soccer field can be seen in the background of the second photo below. The exterior of the youth ministry center, which is across the parking lot from the school, is shown in the first photo below. 

Rosary beads and the cross painted on one section of asphalt parking lot in front of the school (above) and the United States map painted elsewhere (below). 

Above: A bench outside the youth ministry center, a gift from the school's Class of 2018. 

The "lower level" (not sure what that term means) parish office and food pantry (above) and the main (upper level?) parish office and rectory (I think) below.   

Above: These three crosses were in the planter right by the church entrance from Hague Road. I had to wonder if the crosses represent more than just religious landscaping. Are they intended as memorials of some kind, perhaps? (shrug)