{"id":4319,"date":"2017-05-25T09:22:24","date_gmt":"2017-05-25T13:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.archives.nd.edu\/about\/news\/?p=4319"},"modified":"2017-05-25T09:22:24","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T13:22:24","slug":"hesburgh-kennedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/hesburgh-kennedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Hesburgh & Kennedy at 100"},"content":{"rendered":" <\/a>
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As an adviser to presidents, special envoy to popes, theologian, author, educator and activist, Rev.\u00a0Theodore M. Hesburgh, who would have turned 100 today, was for decades considered the most influential Catholic priest in America. \u00a0Although his career included sixteen presidential appointments, his relationship with President John F. Kennedy was especially noteworthy. \u00a0Born just four days apart in May 1917, their paths would cross multiple times in the 1950s-1960s. \u00a0One of the more memorable Notre Dame moments was when Fr. Hesburgh presented President Kennedy with the Laetare Medal<\/a> in the Oval Office on November 22, 1961.<\/p>\n

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Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, CSC, (left) and Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, (right) presenting President John F. Kennedy with the Laetare Medal in the White House, 1961\/1122.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When John F. Kennedy took the oath of office of the President of the United States on January 20, 1961, he was the first Catholic to do so. \u00a0As such, his name quickly rose to the top of nominations for the Laetare Medal, an honor Notre Dame has bestowed on exemplary American Catholics since 1883. \u00a0Fearing a loyalty to the Vatican, factions in\u00a0America were apprehensive of a Catholic president. \u00a0Traditionally, the recipient of the medal is announced on Laetare Sunday in Lent, which was on March 12th in 1961. \u00a0Not wanting to ruffle feathers so early in his\u00a0presidency, Notre Dame was hesitant to bestow Kennedy\u00a0the the honor during\u00a0his first year in office. \u00a0Breaking tradition of keeping the name secret until Laetare\u00a0Sunday, University President Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh notified\u00a0Kennedy in advance on February 14th, giving him the option to decline if it would cause too much public consternation (https:\/\/www.jfklibrary.org\/Asset-Viewer\/Archives\/JFKPOF-030-011.aspx<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Telegram from Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh to United States President John F. Kennedy informing him that he was named the year’s Laetare Medal recipient, 1961\/0310.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kennedy accepted the offer, but the presentation wouldn’t occur until November 22, 1961. \u00a0The Laetare presentation ceremony was not yet a staple of commencement exercises, and Notre Dame officials more often took the medal to the recipients rather than have them come to campus. \u00a0On November 22, 1961, Fr. Hesburgh happened to be meeting with Kennedy and others for a Commission on Civil Rights meeting<\/a>. \u00a0Later that afternoon, Fr. Hesburgh and Notre Dame Vice President Rev. Edmund P. Joyce presented Kennedy the Laetare Medal in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n

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Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh (right) and Rev. Edmund P. Joyce (left) presenting President John F. Kennedy with the Laetare Medal, 1961\/1122. \u00a0(White House Photograph, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Laetare Medal presentation was not Kennedy’s first or last interaction with Notre Dame and Fr. Hesburgh. \u00a0Kennedy attended several Notre Dame football games, was the commencement speaker for winter 1950, and received the 1957\u00a0Patriot of the Year Award<\/a>, and served on Notre Dame’s Liberal and Fine Arts Council. \u00a0During Kennedy’s administration, Fr. Hesburgh served on the Commission on Civil Rights and the board of the National Science Foundation. \u00a0Fr. Hesburgh played a significant role shaping in\u00a0Kennedy’s 1961\u00a0Peace Corps<\/a> initiative, making Notre Dame one of the first university sponsors and training centers for the program.<\/p>\n

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Winter Commencement – Rev. James E. Norton (far left) and University President Rev. John J. Cavanaugh helping Congressman John F. Kennedy with his academic hood as he receives an honorary degree, 1950\/0129.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kennedy’s untimely death exactly two years after the presentation of the Laetare Medal brought an abrupt end to the relationship. \u00a0There is always room to speculate what might have been, but it is highly likely that Kennedy would have continued seeking\u00a0the council of Fr. Hesburgh as so many other United States Presidents did.<\/p>\n

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Football Game Day \u2013 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State (MSU), 1956\/1020. Adlai Stevenson in the stands with others, including with Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh (far right) and John F. Kennedy (back left).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Sources:
\n<\/em>John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (https:\/\/www.jfklibrary.org\/)<\/a>
\n“Notre Dame Honors John Fitzgerald Kennedy, President of the United States,” Notre Dame<\/em>, Summer 1961<\/a>
\nTelegram to President Kennedy\u00a0– UPHS 57\/31
\nLaetare Medal Presentation\u00a0– GPHR 45\/4321
\n1950 Winter Commencement – GPHR 45\/1156
\nStevenson, Kennedy, and Hesburgh in the stands of the MSU game, 1956\u00a0– GPHR 45\/2937<\/p>\n

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As an adviser to presidents, special envoy to popes, theologian, author, educator and activist, Rev.\u00a0Theodore M. Hesburgh, who would have turned 100 today, was for decades considered the most influential Catholic priest in America. \u00a0Although his career included sixteen presidential appointments, his relationship with President John F. Kennedy was especially noteworthy. \u00a0Born just four days … Continue reading “Hesburgh & Kennedy at 100”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n ","protected":false},"author":4370,"featured_media":4336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[32,39,44,47],"class_list":["post-4319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nd-history","tag-events","tag-hesburgh","tag-john-f-kennedy","tag-laetare-medal"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-14 17:36:55","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4370"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4319\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/ndarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}