Fr. Ted Hesburgh was my immediate predecessor as President of Notre Dame, my fellow Holy Cross priest and my close personal friend. In recent years, I had some of my undergraduate students read his wonderful memoir "God, Country and Notre Dame." We then went together to his office atop the Library and he warmly welcomed us and regaled us with stories spread out across his amazing life of ministry and service. The students told me afterwards that they now knew what greatness looked like, greatness combined with a deep personal faith and a decades long ethic of service.
When asked what advice he had to pass on to the youngest members of the Notre Dame family, he told them that before every major moment in their lives, before all important decisions, they should simply pray, "Come Holy Spirit," and they could be confident that God's will would be done.
Fr. Ted Hesburgh has left a marvelous legacy for all of us who walk in his footsteps. As our leader for 35 years, a role that he took on with all of his manifest intelligence, courage and strength, may they one day say about us what we proudly say about Fr. Ted, "Love Thee Notre Dame."
Fr. Edward A. "Monk" Malloy President Emeritus University of Notre Dame
Monk Malloy reflects on Fr. Ted
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
