March 19, 2026

Gate of Heaven Photo Contest 2026

2025 Entries

Capture God’s Beauty Through Your Lens

Download the Entry Form Here

2026 Schedule of Events

Exhibition: July 27- August 14
Archbishop Review: August 24 – 28
Awards Breakfast: September 19

Prizes

First Place – $200
Second Place – $150
Third Place – $100
Professional – $200
Youth – $100
Archbishop’s Award – $100
Calendar* – $25

*for any photos selected for the annual calendar

Procedures and Rules

Each photo must be taken at Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
Each person is only eligible for one cash prize.
A maximum of five photos per contestant will be considered.
Each photo must be 8×10 inches and mounted or matted on 11×14 inch black board.
Each photo must have a completed Entry Form attached to the back of the photo, marked for no more than one category.
No signature, name, or other identifying mark is permitted in the photo or on the front of the entry.
No photos which contain people or marker memorialization’s will be considered.
High resolution images (.tif or .jpeg preferred) must be included at the time of submission on a flash drive marked with your name and phone number.
Permitted post-processing adjustments: light, color, clarity, cropping
Not permitted post-processing adjustments: image manipulation
Employees of Gate of Heaven Cemetery are not permitted to participate in this contest.

Judging

Entries will be evaluated by the general public and Gate of Heaven staff based on appeal, composition, content, and photographic skill capturing the beauty of Gate of Heaven Cemetery. The contest is overseen by the Photo Committee.

Exhibition

The entry deadline is Monday, July 20 by 4:30pm. Photos will be exhibited in the main office at Gate of Heaven Cemetery from Monday, July 27 until Friday, August 14. At this time, visitors and contestants may vote for one favorite photo, which will be recognized with a certificate as the Peoples’ Choice.

Photo Committee

Deacon Tim Schutte
Sean Hughes
Corey Rutzke
Anne Hoffman, Volunteer

People’s Choice

Visitors to Gate of Heaven Cemetery are invited to vote for their favorite photo. The contestant who submits the photo with the most votes will be honored with a Certificate of Recognition.

Awards Breakfast

A continental breakfast for all contestants will be in Gate of Heaven’s Saint Peter’s Chapel on Saturday, September 19 at 9:30am.

Return of Photos

Photos and flash drives will be returned at the awards breakfast, or they can be picked up between September 21 and October 5. All photos not picked up by October 5 become the property of Gate of Heaven Cemetery.

Any other questions? Please email community@gateofheaven.org

Our family attended the monthly memorial mass. It was a beautiful service! Very impressive and respectful.

N. H.

From the initial contact all the way to the committal service everything was handled so professionally! The family service advisor was excellent to work with, the experience was professional and knowledgeable, and made a very difficult task a lot easier.

D. B.

Everything was done with such respect for our family, so patient and kind. And the service at the graveside was so prayerfully led by the deacon. Thank you.

M. F.

Very beautiful and peaceful place, and I’m very grateful for all that you do and that the archdiocese has such a wonderful cemetery. I also appreciated the monthly memorial, remembrance mass.

M. D.

Gate of Heaven Cemetery is a beautiful resting place. Under the circumstances, we could not have picked a better place for our parents to rest.

R. T.

Gate of Heaven’s family service advisor had everything in order when we arrived, which made a difficult experience more bearable. I want to thank everyone for all that that was done, making our situation better. Everything was perfect. Thanks again.

R. M.