Helen Prejean is a Catholic religious sister and a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.
Theodore Martin Hesburgh, CSC was an American Catholic priest and academic who was a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross. He is best known for his service as the president of the University of Notre Dame for thirty-five years (1952–1987).
John Francis O'Hara was an American member of the Congregation of Holy Cross and prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as president of the University of Notre Dame (1934–1939) and as the Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1951 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.
Timothy John Roemer is an American diplomat and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003 as a Democrat from Indiana's 3rd congressional district. Subsequently, he was the president of the Center for National Policy (CNP), a Washington, D.C.-based national security think tank. He served as U.S. Ambassador to India from 2009 to 2011. Roemer currently serves on the advisory board of Washington, D.C. based non-profit America Abroad Media.
Mount St. Mary's University is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It has the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. Undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Arts, the Richard J. Bolte School of Business, and the School of Natural Science and Mathematics. "The Mount" has over 40 undergraduate majors, minors, concentrations, and special programs, as well as bachelor's/master's combinations in partnership with other universities, 8 master's programs, and 6 postgraduate certificate programs.
Laetare Sunday is the fourth Sunday in the season of Lent, in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. Traditionally, this Sunday has been a day of celebration within the austere period of Lent. This Sunday gets its name from the first few words of the traditional Latin entrance verse (Introit) for the Mass of the day. "Laetare Jerusalem" is Latin from Isaiah 66:10.
Mary Ann Glendon is the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and a former United States Ambassador to the Holy See. She teaches and writes on bioethics, comparative constitutional law, property, and human rights in international law.
Rev. John Ignatius Jenkins, C.S.C. is an American Catholic priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross. He is best known for his service as the 17th president of the University of Notre Dame from 2005 to 2024. He previously served as its vice-president and associate provost. He replaced Edward Malloy as president.
Richard C. Kerens was an American contractor and politician.
Peter F. Steinfels is an American journalist and educator best known for his writings on religious topics.
George Gilmary Higgins was an American labor activist and Catholic clergyman known as the "labor priest". He was a major force in the Catholic Church's support for Cesar Chavez and his union movement.
Maurice Francis Egan was an American writer and diplomat. He was a prolific writer and had a long and successful career as a Catholic journalist, literary critic, and novelist. He was a professor of English at two universities, and served as United States Minister in Copenhagen.
Eliza Allen Starr was an American artist, art critic, teacher, and lecturer. She was known throughout the United States and Europe for her books about Catholic art.
John Thomas Noonan Jr. was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Kenneth Francis Hackett served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See from August 2013 until January 2017. He was previously president of Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
Timothy Edward Howard was the 43rd Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, professor at the University of Notre Dame, writer, and Civil War veteran. He served in the Indiana Senate from 1886 to 1892.
The University of Notre Dame's annual commencement exercises are held each May, currently in the Notre Dame Stadium. The exercises award undergraduate and graduate degrees.
The Rev. Thomas E. Walsh, C.S.C. was an Irish-Canadian Catholic priest, and seventh President of the University of Notre Dame from 1881 to 1893. He was born one of nine in Lacolle, Quebec, son of Thomas Walsh and Winifred McDermott. He was educated at the College de Saint-Laurent, where he caught the attention of Rev. Edward Sorin, who saw his potential. He finished his studies there in 1872 and entered the Novitiate. Sorin sent him to study at College de Ste. Croix in Neuilly, close to Paris, where he spent three years. He was recalled to Notre Dame in 1876 in order to improve enrollment. He was ordained a priest on August 29, 1877, by Bishop Joseph Dwenger of Fort Wayne and then assumed the role of dean of students. After the great fire of 1879, Walsh was in charge of rescheduling classes and professors in the newly reopened college, and his administrative ability led Sorin and William Corby to pick him as next president in 1881. He died of kidney disease at the age of 40.
