Rev. Richard V. Warner, C.S.C. died Wednesday, Sept. 21. | Courtesy of University of Notre Dame
Fr. Richard “Dick” Warner died Wednesday at the age of 83 at Holy Cross House, according to a University press release.
Warner was a part of the Congregation of Holy Cross since 1962, the same year he graduated from Notre Dame, the release said. Warner became a part of the University’s Board of Fellows and Board of Trustees in 1979 as a part of his role as the provincial superior of the Indiana Province. In 1988, Warner was appointed a counselor at the University by then-president Fr. Edward “Monk” Malloy.
Warner also served as the director of campus ministry from 1989 until 2010 before he was elected the 12th superior general of the Congregation of Holy Cross, the release said.
“Father Dick Warner was a consummate priest, a servant-leader in Holy Cross, fiercely loyal to Notre Dame, and he had an abiding love for our students — a love that was richly reciprocated,” University President Fr. John Jenkins said in the release. “He was to me and many a model, mentor and friend who generously gave his life to the mission of Notre Dame and the Congregation of Holy Cross.”
The University will hold a wake and funeral mass Tuesday for Warner at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively, at the Basilica.
This Monday marked 56 years since Holy Cross College’s establishment. The College was founded on Sept. 19, 1966 by Holy Cross Brothers whose mission is to be “educators in the faith” to men and women everywhere — especially the poor, afflicted and oppressed.
Michael Griffin, senior vice president and interim provost of Holy Cross College, said that the College was originally founded to train Holy Cross brothers to teach at the high school level.
“At that time, Catholic brothers were really expanding their ministry to teaching,” Griffin said. “If you look around the country at some of the best Catholic high schools, many of them were begun by brothers in the 50s and the 60s.”
Previously, brothers would pursue degrees at institutions like Notre Dame or St. Edward’s University in Texas. Holy Cross was the first of its kind, Griffin said.
“Holy Cross College really provided a foundation where the brothers could live and study together,” he explained.
In 1968, the College became coeducational just two years after its founding because the brothers saw a chance to expand their mission, Griffin explained.
“The brothers saw that it was not only them who could benefit from the education. So very quickly, before many other colleges, including Notre Dame [that became coeducational in 1972], the brothers decided to open up Holy Cross to women and men to join,” Griffin said.
When it was founded, Holy Cross College initially offered two-year programs, but over the years, it expanded to become a four-year college.
Students marked Founder’s Day by wearing their maroon and silver Holy Cross gear to show off their school spirit. The College distributed Holy Cross themed cookies and had food trucks out on the courtyard.
Holy Cross students lined up at food trucks on the quad outside of dorms to celebrate the College’s 56th annual Founder’s Day. / Courtesy of Sara Cole
Sophomore Sara Cole said she thought Founder’s Day was a great way to build Holy Cross camaraderie.
“It’s just a great way for students to hang out and be in community,” Cole said.
Cole said that she was drawn to Holy Cross because she wanted to pursue the elementary education major that they offer. The program has allowed her to sit in on student teaching sessions since her first year.
“Other schools [with comparable programs] generally only allow students to start practical experience with teaching their senior year,” Cole said.
Coming from a small high school, Cole said she also appreciated having a small college community where she knows the majority of students.
Student body president of the College, sophomore Dion Payne-Miller also praised Holy Cross’ tight-knit community.
“I love that the community is so small that you pretty much know everybody from students all the way up to professors, and even administration for that matter,” he said.
Payne-Miller hopes to see more partnerships between Holy Cross, Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s.
“Besides clubs … we can work together for our overall community of South Bend and Mishawaka,” Payne-Miller explained.
Griffin said that Founder’s Day at Holy Cross really highlights the uniqueness of the tri-campus community.
“The Holy Cross, Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s tri-campus … really is one of the only places in the world where you have three colleges founded by each of the three parts of Catholic religious life — priests, sisters and brothers. I often say that 46556 is the most unique zip code in Catholic higher education.”
As the school year is quickly ramping up, so is the Fighting Irish football season. However, one thing that is painful to admit to many of my friends this weekend, and now to you, the reader of this column, is that I have never been to a Notre Dame football game before. I know, I know. How does a super-senior manage to never have gone to a football game, especially being just across the street from Notre Dame? The answer: I just wasn’t ever able to. I am a student who has at least two jobs at a time when on campus, way too many friends to keep track of and assignments that flood way over my head. So, excuse me if I haven’t carved out some time for game days before. The thing is, I knew that this year was going to be different. I am still unsure of how much time I have left here as a student in the 46556 ZIP code, so it was important for me to jump on any opportunity this year to be able to see a bunch of sweaty young adults revel in the magic that Notre Dame Stadium has to offer. But, to begin such a massive undertaking, there had to be a plan, and like most of my plans it did not go all too well.
The night before the game, I wanted to go to Drummer’s Circle, a spectacle I have been lucky enough to witness before. Of course, I was unable to go because by the time I realized it was happening, it was one in the morning. So, we’re not at a great start for the weekend. Then, while walking past Siegfried Dining Hall on Holy Cross campus, I confirm with my friends that we are meeting at 11:30 a.m. for brunch; but come 11 a.m., all of us are running late. I have no eyebrows on yet, one friend already left without us, my other friend is on hour four of tailgating and we still have to buy snacks. I wanted to chug a Red Bull and fly, and I should’ve. Instead I sped through a blue-and-gold appropriate makeup look, ate a full plate of brunch and managed to remember to drink water, all in the span of 30 minutes. Impressive, I know, but I wanted to set myself up for success this game day.
Moving along in this story, I met with one of my original group members, and then I joined a new group of girls. This was my best case-scenario. I was wearing The Shirt along with a denim mini-skirt and my “going out” trashed white Vans. I was hopeful that being with a group of girls would boost my confidence because being a 6’1 tall male-presenting person in a denim mini-skirt in God Country, Notre Dame is still nerve-wracking. Nonetheless, we ventured into Domer territory and made a couple of stops along the way. We passed by a tailgate where I ended up with a free shirt, we watched the Band Concert at Bond Hall and went for a bathroom break at South Dining Hall. Things were looking up for sure. We saw classmates, professors and successfully evaded embarrassing exes along the way.
It was 30 minutes until game time and we made our way to Notre Dame Stadium when the anxiety started settling in. I wasn’t sitting in the student section of this game so I found myself looking for another friend of mine that graduated last year. We hugged at Library Lawn and found our way to the gate closest to our section. I walked slowly in anticipation. My shirt is a darker color by this point so I knew worrying about my outfit was a lost cause, but I worried about getting in. It was the same type of anxiety you get when going through TSA: I had no malicious intent in going to the game, but I felt guilty somehow. We got in, smiled at the event staff, wished them a good day and I was in. I almost cried. I still don’t know why I almost cried then, or when the band played, or when we got a touchdown, or when I saw our new head coach on my souvenir cup, but I tell you, dear reader, I almost cried.
That is the thing about this football culture, specifically as a Holy Cross student going to a Notre Dame home game. It can often make students like myself, especially students of color, feel like outsiders or not part of the crowd. There was a moment when I thought to myself, “This is why people can’t believe I’ve never been to a game before.”But, I look back at yesterday’s game and, despite losing, I think about all the wins I had. I had great seats (Section 10, Row 32, Seat 6), I had one of my best friends next to me, I had The Shirt and I had a culture of tradition and pride around me. The energy was addicting and invigorating all at the same time. Now I wonder if I’ll ever find myself in a position to go back to witness the Fighting Irish on their home turf, but I know that I can cross this sequence of events off my bucket list. In the future I know three things to do: one, get a clear fanny pack; two, bring more sunscreen; three, sit in the student section for sure. So, to close, it only feels right to make a Taylor Swift reference: Today was a fairytale.”
Gabriel B. Ibarra is a Chicago native currently attending Holy Cross College; majoring in Visual Arts – Studio Track – with a minor in Elementary Education. If not crying to any of Taylor Swift’s re-recordings, you can find them somewhere in the tri-campus causing chaos with laughs, pointed jokes, and one of many emotional support water bottles in hand, or leading Holy Cross College’s First Generation Club as the vice president. Learning to write for a newspaper is harder than expected, so they can be contacted on Twitter @gbenito11 or via email at gibarra@hcc-nd.edu.
The views expressed in the column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
