Icon on the lawn

In 1973, UD visual and performing arts professor Henry C. Setter entered a sculpture competition in nearby Middletown, Ohio, and won. The metal sculpture, Omega Point, is Setter’s interpretation of Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s cosmic evolutionary theory. It was brought to campus and installed near the main entrance of Roesch Library. Father Raymond A. Roesch, S.M. ’36, spoke at its dedication on the library steps. In 2009, the sculpture’s base was restored, and it was moved to the library lawn near the stairs leading from Roesch Library up to St. Mary’s, where it sits today.

“Omega point is the furthest point of the whole cosmic process: a final point where the law of universal love will have reached its climax and its crown — Christ.”

The sculpture includes a plaque with this quote from de Chardin: “Omega point is the furthest point of the whole cosmic process: a final point where the law of universal love will have reached its climax and its crown — Christ.”

Photographs courtesy University Archives and Special Collections 

A version of this article appears in print in the Spring 2026 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 38. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE