He did it all. He elevated what had been regarded as a football school to a major university. He spoke several languages and traveled the world. He rubbed elbows with presidents and popes and had a significant role in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He got to fly in an Air Force SR-71 Blackbird (care to cruise at 80,000 ft. while doing Mach 3?) and the Navy F-14 Tomcat. (I flew F-14s. The Navy didn’t give rides to just anybody.) For being outspoken, he was fired by President Richard Nixon.
But at the end of every day, he was a Catholic priest in the Congregation of the Holy Cross. At age 97, the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh—Father Ted, to everyone—died last Thursday.
In 1952, at the young age of 35, Fr. Ted took over the reins of the University of Notre Dame and served as president for 35 years. Back in the day, Notre Dame was known more for football than academics. Fr. Ted aimed to change that. As part of elevating its academic level, he took the bold step in 1967 of transitioning Notre Dame from control by the Congregation of the Holy Cross to a lay board of trustees. Only by having a lay board would Notre Dame be a university where all voices were heard, not just those in step with the Catholic Church.
In 1972, Notre Dame admitted women. This too was part of making the University great.
Notre Dame has always held true to the ideal of being a liberal university where all voices are heard. That paradigm caught national attention long after Fr. Ted retired when, in 2009, President Barack Obama was asked to address the graduating class. Some objected because of Obama’s position on abortion. In Fr. Ted’s view, the University needs to hear from everyone. That’s the role of a great university, he would say, to be a place where people with different views can freely—and peacefully—speak.
Fr. Ted held a variety of presidential and papal appointments, and he advocated on behalf of those who needed a stronger voice. He walked and was photographed with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and chaired the U.S. Civil Rights Commission—until his advocacy and criticism of the federal government got to be too much for Nixon, who told Fr. Ted to resign.
As much as he favored diverse thought, Fr. Ted drew the line when discourse became angry and trampled on the rights of others. He opposed the Vietnam War but had no tolerance for anything other than peaceful discourse. His rule was simple. Everyone has the right to argue and protest, but the use of force, whether violent or non-violent, would not be allowed.
The story goes that during the latter part of the war, a group of students had gathered in front of and blocked access to the Administration Building (the one with that big beautiful golden dome). Fr. Ted came out and announced very plainly that if the students did not disperse in 15 minutes they would be expelled. The crowd dispersed.
For all his fame and notoriety, Fr. Ted was just that, a priest. At the end of every work day at Notre Dame, he would retire to a small room in Corby Hall, the residence for several priests, and, like all good priests, read the breviary. Asked what one word he would like to see on his tombstone, he said, “priest.”
Despite a heavy work load, when he was on campus—mind you, he traveled a lot—Fr. Ted made himself available to students. The stories are legion of Fr. Ted working late at night in the Administration Building and making time for students who would drop in to talk.
What did a famous man like Fr. Ted do when he finally retired after running the University for 35 years? He and long-time friend, the Rev. Edmund P. “Ned” Joyce, who was vice president under Fr. Ted, toured the country for a year—in an RV.
Fr. Ted wanted Notre Dame to be not just a leading Catholic university, but a leading university among all universities. He succeeded and, along the way, he accomplished much else. Fr. Ted was a man for all seasons. May peace be upon him.
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Jack D’Aurora writes for considerthisbyjd.com
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MAR
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