• Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Synod
  • Columnists
  • Revista Catolica
  • Vatican
  • Subscribe
The Texas Catholic
The Texas Catholic

Dallas, Texas

Today is Thursday, March 30, 2023
  • Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Synod
  • Columnists
  • Revista Catolica
  • Vatican
  • Subscribe
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Instagram
Home
Diocese

Photographer’s donated collection of images captures ‘richness of faith’

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Ron St. Angelo, who served as the official photographer for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys for more than three decades, poses at his home in Grapevine on Feb. 26. St. Angelo, who over the course of his career also captured many faith-based images, recently donated his now-digital photography collection to the Diocese of Dallas. (KEVIN BARTRAM/Special Contributor)

By Jeff Miller
Special to The Texas Catholic

For Ron St. Angelo, photography became a passion at Beaumont High during the mid-1960s and then his life’s work soon after his return from two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy. Two of his most frequent subjects have been the Diocese of Dallas, with which he has published four books, and the Dallas Cowboys, for which he served as official photographer for more than three decades (earning him three Super Bowl rings).

St. Angelo, 72, recently donated his now-digital photographic collection to the diocese.

“The work that I did was pretty much a gift from me to God for the talent he gave me,” St. Angelo said.

At 72, he said he’s 100 percent disabled from exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, which prevents him from attending in-person Mass, but is a graduate student at the University of Dallas in Irving studying theology and philosophy.

“I decided I was going to dedicate the rest of my career to repaying God for giving me that talent,” he said.

“We are grateful to Ron for gifting the Diocese of Dallas with the St. Angelo Collection,” said Kelly Halaszyn, development director for the diocese. “This historical collection of photography of the Diocese of Dallas captures the richness of our faith, and we look forward to preserving these images as part of our treasured collection.”

Joyce Higgins, the diocesan archivist, said, “Ron St. Angelo’s use of the camera to create this photographic collection gives us an opportunity to see ourselves and the world around in these historical moments of the Diocese of Dallas. They will be used for generations to come.”

St. Angelo’s professional routine has included prayer.

“When I pray before I photograph, I say, ‘God, I want you to show me what you want me to see,’ ” he said.

St. Angelo’s passions for the Catholic faith and America’s Team crossed paths late in the 1993 football season when he decided to shoot a time-lapse image of Texas Stadium during a Monday Night Football game from UD’s Braniff Memorial Tower. That required lugging his equipment to the top and tying it down with bungie cords before shooting. The result was particularly memorable, and he returned to the tower in April 2010 to record the implosion of the stadium.

“I’m a storyteller with a camera,” St. Angelo said. “I use the same style with the Cowboys and the diocese. A lot of stuff is unfolding in real time in front of you. When something important happens, you’d better be ready.”

He and Joanna, his wife of 41 years, live in Grapevine on “a little piece of heaven” that includes a spring-fed pond. He’s a founding member of Mater Dei parish in Irving and is a patron of the Carmelite monastery in Dallas.

Of his involvement at UD, St. Angelo said, “I plan to be attending class at the University of Dallas for the duration of my life.”

Editor’s Note: Images from the Ron St. Angelo Collection donated to the Diocese of Dallas are currently available for viewing on the University of Dallas’ Digital Commons website

  • Tags
  • Diocese of Dallas
  • Ron St. Angelo
Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
Next article Innovations, technology help parishes ‘come together’ amid COVID
Previous article JPII athletes step up to help those in need after historic winter storm

Related Posts

Sharing faith through music Diocese
Monday, March 27, 2023

Sharing faith through music

Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops supports parental choice in education bills Diocese
Sunday, March 26, 2023

Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops supports parental choice in education bills

Making wishes come true Diocese
Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Making wishes come true

Texas Catholic Classics

A look at the five Dallas law enforcement officers who gave their lives while protecting citizens during a mass shooting in downtown Dallas in July 2016.

 

How a child with special needs inspired a high school volleyball team, community and a family who heeded God’s call to protect life.

 

After a young runner collapsed at a Dallas marathon, grace and providence unfolded for those involved in the valiant effort to help her.

   

In the summer of 2016, 50 students and 25 chaperones from Dallas Catholic high schools traveled to Nicaragua for a 10-day mission trip.

 

Early on a November morning, Kenndrick Mendieta bounded from the gym at Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep toward the campus’ athletic fields as clouds lifted on a fresh new day.

 

Subscribe

Get the award-winning Texas Catholic delivered to your door. Use the menu below to subscribe now.


Subscription length




 

Photo Gallery

Click here to find your favorite Texas Catholic photographs.

The Texas Catholic Newspaper

Catholic Diocese of Dallas
Michael Gresham, Editor

3725 Blackburn Street
Dallas, Texas 75219
(214) 379-2800

Our Affiliated Sites

Texas Catholic Youth

Revista Católica

Legal and Other

Contact us

Terms of service

Privacy policy

Site map

Site powered by TexasCatholicMedia

© 2013-2019 The Texas Catholic Publishing Company. All rights reserved.