February 25, 2025 // Bishop

Corby Hall: A Glimpse into the Lives of Holy Cross Priests

Clare Hildebrandt

Reporter

“Community life nurtures our faith and makes our work [at the university] more than employment – it becomes a ministry,” said Father Edward Dolphin, a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross who lives and works at the University of Notre Dame.

On Wednesday, February 19, Bishop Rhoades celebrated Mass at Corby Hall on the university’s campus. Corby Hall is the home of the Holy Cross community at Notre Dame. After Mass, Bishop Rhoades joined the community’s priests and brothers for dinner.

The night began with Mass in the chapel at the heart of Corby Hall, which was filled with religious, all listening attentively to the word of God.

In his homily, Bishop Rhoades spoke on the story of the blind man in Mark 8, which details the man’s intimate encounters with the living God.

“Jesus led the blind man as a friend would lead one who is blind, guiding him, helping him so he wouldn’t stumble,” Bishop Rhoades said. “It’s a very personal encounter – a walk together with Jesus leading the way,” he explained.
Bishop Rhoades then encouraged his fellow priests and brothers to meditate on this personal encounter with Christ during the Lenten season.

“Today’s Gospel is good for meditation as we approach the Lenten season, since we can all be spiritually blind and hard of hearing sometimes. Lent is a special season of grace in which the Church invites us to grow closer to Jesus, especially in our prayer. We should let Him take us by the hand away from the crowd and our busy lives for more one-on-one time.”

After Mass, Today’s Catholic sat down with Father Dolphin and Father Gregory Haake, the religious superior of the priests and brothers at Notre Dame (Corby Hall), to hear about their life at the university.

“So first, Corby Hall is the house for all of the priests and brothers of Holy Cross who live and work at Notre Dame,” Father Haake said.

“We have 68 priests and brothers who are a part of this community. We all have jobs at the university but then come together for prayer, meals, and house meetings here at Corby Hall,” he continued. “Out of the 68 religious, two thirds of us live in the residence halls here at Notre Dame, and then about a third actually live in this building.”

“Some priests will actually work and then live in residential life. … Father Ed is a rector at Dillon Hall,” he said.

Dillion Hall, housing more than 200 young men, is the largest residence hall on Notre Dame’s campus.

“Dillion Hall is just a powerhouse,” Father Haake said with a laugh. “Father Ed is one of three priests and a seminarian in residence there.”

Father Dolphin chimed in, saying: “It’s very fun. When you live with 250 guys under your roof, there are very few days that look like the day before.”

“A lot of the time, I don’t know what is going to be going on,” Father Dolphin said. “I may need to help the boys organize events or simply meet with new students. Every day is a little different right now.”

Every Monday night, Father Ed Dolphin prepares, cooks, and serves meatballs alongside Dillion Hall residents.

“I serve 15 pounds of meatballs every Monday night at 10 p.m. – Meatball Monday is a well-liked event in Dillion.” 

His ministry also includes being available to the students to lend advice or simply provide company.

“Students will come into my office or living room to talk,” Father Dolphin said. “Sometimes we talk about study abroad plans and just what is happening in their lives. I’m available for them.”

As a rector, Father Dolphin said he often finds students ruminating on what it means to live a good life, but needing some direction.

“The students are often looking for ways to connect some of their factual knowledge with experiential knowledge. They might have a couple ideas or thoughts about what it means to live a life well lived, a life dedicated to others, but then not know how to truly live it out,” he explained.

Father Haake, who lives in the dorms but serves as a professor of French literature, added: “I think sometimes [the students] don’t know what they want, and so one of our roles, especially in the residence halls, is to help them see that this is an answer to their question.”

“It truly is that Jesus Christ is the answer to a question they may be asking but don’t know they’re asking, or are not terribly aware of it,” Father Haake shared. “We help them be aware of this hunger … [and[ lead them to Christ, who is the answer to their questions and searching.”

Corby Hall itself, the priests explained, is a place of rest and rejuvenation for those laboring on campus.

“Corby is a nice place to get away and have community life before we go back to the dorms, because most of us have Masses at night in the residence halls,” Father Haake said.

And it is dinner at Corby Hall that brings the whole community together after a long day of work, the priests said.

“We have a lot of very interesting people in the community,” Father Dolphin said. “They have entertaining opinions – and very informed opinions – and we can talk about things in the world at dinner. We definitely have an intergenerational community as well. Our youngest is 27, while our oldest is 91, which is a great way to get a different perspective on life and just hear what is big for other people.”

Haake agreed and then concluded, “Coming back here, relaxing with my brothers, is the most important part of my life, and I am thankful for it.”

Clare Hildebrandt is a staff reporter for Today’s Catholic.