The University held a Mass on Wednesday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the passing of former University President Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh. Fr. Edward Malloy, Hesburgh’s successor, celebrated the Mass.
Malloy began with a story detailing Hesburgh’s final moments, describing Hesburgh as a man committed to prayer life, as he went to Mass every day except the day before his death.
“[Hesburgh] said Mass won’t be necessary because [he’s] going to die tomorrow … when I went to go chat with him, he said, ‘I’m thinking about eternity, and that I’m ready,’” Malloy said.
At Hesburgh’s funeral, students lined up on a very cold day to watch Hesburgh be driven from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart to Holy Cross Cemetery. There were a multitude of speakers, Malloy said.
“It was a powerful impression of the energy of that day … I think there were many elements in Ted’s history that helped explain how he became a wonderful leader,” Malloy said.
Malloy explained that Hesburgh had a very strong Catholic family and was originally from Syracuse, New York. He had decided early in his life that he wanted to be a priest.
One of Hesburgh’s greatest and closest colleagues was Fr. Edmund "Ned" Joyce. “Ted leaned to the left. Ned Joyce leaned to the right. Their friendship together shared the same vision of greatness for Notre Dame,” he said. Joyce and Hesburgh were able to transform the University into what it is today, with Hesburgh Library and the Joyce Center standing as symbols of this transformation, said Malloy.
Malloy then discussed Hesburgh's involvement with civil rights under the Nixon administration, during which he served as the chairman of the Civil Rights Commission, building bridges between its members to develop the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Malloy noted that in his autobiography, "God, Country, Notre Dame," Hesburgh stated that he only wanted one word on his tombstone when he died: Priest.
“He was a priest first of all. He was proud of that. He did everything he could to reinforce his presence in the lives of others,” Malloy said. “He was energetic. He was a quick learner. He wanted to travel. He wanted to be the first priest to celebrate Mass in outer space."
Malloy shared that his fondest memories of Hesburgh were when they visited sacred places together.
After Malloy’s homily, “We Shall Overcome” was sung, which Hesburgh once sang with civil rights leaders.
