September 17, 2024 // Bishop

Father Dowd Inaugurated as New President of Notre Dame

Jill Boughton

Freelance Writer

SOUTH BEND (OSV News) – When Holy Cross Father Theodore Hesburgh became president of the University of Notre Dame in 1952, there was no search committee or formal inauguration ceremony.

He received his “obedience” from the provincial superior of the Congregation of Holy Cross. On the way out of church, his predecessor, Holy Cross Father John Cavanaugh, reached in his lapel pocket, handed “Father Ted,” as he was best known, the keys to the president’s office and told him to get to work.

The investiture of the 18th president of Notre Dame, Holy Cross Father Robert A. Dowd, was a bit more involved, as his inauguration extended throughout two days – Thursday, September 12, and Friday, September 13, days prior to two feasts with particular significance for the Congregation of Holy Cross: the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14) and the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (September 15).

It was under the leadership of Father Hesburgh that responsibility for the university passed from the Holy Cross order to a largely lay board of trustees. Since they were responsible for choosing the successor to Holy Cross Father John Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president from 2005 until the end of the 2023-24 academic year, it was John B. Veihmeyer, board chairman, who hung the presidential medal around Father Dowd’s neck and presented him with the University Mace that symbolizes his authority. The board announced that Father Dowd would succeed Father Jenkins as university president in December.

The inauguration’s Notre Dame Forum events on September 12 included four “fireside chats” with distinguished leaders in global development, technology, philanthropy, and foreign affairs. The new president chose the theme for this year’s forum: “What Do We Owe Each Other?”

Since its establishment in 2005, the annual Notre Dame Forum invites campus-wide dialogue about an issue of importance to the university, the nation, and the world.

After experiencing mild cold symptoms, Father Dowd tested positive for COVID on Tuesday, September 10, so he was masked during the morning Mass on September 13 at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and for most of the afternoon investiture ceremony. Since his voice was a bit raspy, Bishop Patrick M. Neary, who heads the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota, and himself a Holy Cross priest, gave the homily and was the principal celebrant of the Mass. Five other bishops were concelebrants and many brother priests assisted.

The Mass featured special readings chosen for the occasion: Wisdom’s invitation from the Book of Proverbs; a reflection on wisdom from James, read in Spanish; and Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth, including the Magnificat.

Bishop Neary began his homily by jokingly paraphrasing the Gospel question, “Can any good thing come out of Michigan City?” – the hometown of his friend “Bobby Dowd.” He then proclaimed that divine providence has chosen the new president and will guide him, having already prepared him through his family of origin, his time in East Africa, and his varied responsibilities at the university in campus ministry, political science, interdisciplinary, and international relationships.

He called the two previous presidents – Father Jenkins and his predecessor, Holy Cross Father Edward “Monk” Malloy (1987-2005) – “wisdom figures” on whom Father Dowd can rely.

“Like a sea captain setting out on a voyage, you’re bound to feel excitement and trepidation,” Bishop Neary said, “But don’t be intimidated by your own weakness. Rely on Jesus Christ, who loves you and has called you to this mission.” He pointed out that Notre Dame’s fundamental mission is Eucharistic and recommended turning often to the intercession of the Lady lifted high on the golden dome.

Bishop Neary pointed out that the Basilica of the Sacred Heart was the place not only of Father Dowd’s inauguration that day, but also where he professed his final vows as a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, where he was ordained a priest, where he celebrated his first Mass of thanksgiving, and more recently where he celebrated the funeral Mass of his mother, Norma. Suffice it to say that Father Dowd has been a part of the Notre Dame “family” for much of his life.

“Like Blessed Basil Moreau, our founder, and St. Andre Bessette and Edward Sorin, the first president, your heart is full of zeal for the apostolate,” Bishop Neary said.

Bishop Neary ended the homily with an injunction to Father Dowd, saying, “May your heart, Bob, like Christ’s, be always open for the whole world to walk through, especially the people here at Notre Dame.”

Before the afternoon convocation, trumpeters beside the steps to the university’s Main Building heralded a reading by Holy Cross Father Greg Haake – first in French, then in English – of letters from Father Edward Sorin, founder of Notre Dame, to his Holy Cross superior, Blessed Father Basil Moreau, about the “excellent piece of property” surrounding a snow-covered lake on which he envisioned a college that would become a powerful means for good for the entire country.

A long line of academics, visiting dignitaries, and selected students processed from the Main Building to Purcell Pavilion for the investiture, with provost John McGreevy serving as emcee. Music was provided by almost 400 student members of the concert band and combined choirs.

Attendees heard from representatives of many different constituencies, including Student Body President Dawson Kiser, who had earlier presented Father Dowd with the vestments he wore at Mass, white and gold befitting the celebration, with a trace of Notre Dame blue and gold. He exhorted the new president to “be you – and be more than you, be Notre Dame.”

There was also a graduate student, a faculty member, Holy Cross Father William Lies, provincial superior of his congregation’s U.S. province, and an international counterpart, President Ignacio Sánchez Diaz from the Pontifical Catholic University in Chile.

In his remarks after his official inauguration as Notre Dame’s new president, Father Dowd quoted Father Hesburgh, who asked, “If we’re afraid to be different from the world, how can we make a difference in the world?”

Father Hesburgh said the Catholic university must bridge the chasms that separate modern people from one another. The problem is obvious: The chasms are widening. But this is also our opportunity. “Notre Dame must be the bridge,” declared Father Dowd, “and all of us must be bridge-builders,” rejecting an either/or mentality in favor of both/and.

He pointed out that the University of Notre Dame has many strengths. Forbes recently named it a top employer among educational institutions, and its world-class faculty explain it being the only faith-based university named to the American Institute of Universities. We strive for excellence, said Father Dowd, but he underlined that excellence must be holistic and bridges built on a firm moral foundation lest they buckle.

His threefold presidential program includes more pathways to Notre Dame for students of varying means and backgrounds, more collaboration as a community of learners, and expanded engagement with the world, including the city of South Bend.

For students, including international students, those pathways will include being loan-free and need-blind, so that no student admitted to the university has to worry about incurring debt.

The new president said that he plans to remain a resident of Cavanaugh Hall, which identifies itself as the Chaos. After all, learning to live together is an important lesson of dorm life as we learn to bring out the best in others, with humility and humanity.

He ended his remarks by reminiscing about coming to a Notre Dame football game as a child and asking his dad, a 1956 graduate, about the lady on top of the dome. In an age of anti-Catholic bigotry, Father Sorin erecting Our Lady up there was an act of faith rather than defiance.

Noting that Our Lady has her hands extended to all, Father Dowd concluded: “Join me and the Blessed Mother. We are Notre Dame. Let us be the Notre Dame the world needs now.”

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the key to the president’s office. Then Father Dowd knelt with Father Jenkins and Father Malloy on either side of him to offer their blessing.

Bishop Rhoades offered a final benediction, with the school’s alma mater, “Notre Dame Our Mother,” concluding the convocation.

Kasia Balsbaugh, a freelance journalist for Today’s Catholic, contributed to this report.

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Bishop Rhoades’ Benediction Prayer

At the conclusion of the inauguration ceremony of Father Robert Dowd, Bishop Rhoades offered the following benediction prayer:

Lord God, our Father, we humbly ask for your blessing as we go forth from this inauguration ceremony. Bless this university under the patronage of the woman you chose to be the mother of your Son, the humble Virgin of Nazareth, Mary, Our Mother. May she who was blessed among women, whom we honor as Notre Dame, Our Lady, intercede for our new president, your servant, and your priest, Father Robert Dowd, that he may be tender, strong, and true as he leads this university. Tender in his loving service of this community. Strong in his faith in you, our Creator and Lord. And true in his commitment to the noble mission of this university, born from the heart of the Church. Fill him with your Spirit’s gifts of wisdom, fortitude, and counsel, and give him always the consolation of your love. Bless our Notre Dame family and all of us gathered here today. Help us to be tender, strong, and true in living our faith, serving others, especially the poor and needy and those who are suffering. May the holy cross of your Son be our standard as we go forth, for it is our hope, our only hope, for it is by His holy cross that Jesus has redeemed the world. It is the sign of the victory of your love, the love that overcomes hatred and violence and that generates eternal life. We implore your blessing that we make with the sign of His cross, asking that you strengthen us to go forth in peace and joy to witness to your love the liberating truth of the Gospel, guided by the Holy Spirit, and with the prayers and protection of Mary, our Blessed Mother. My brothers and sisters, may Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.