Laetare Medal


The Laetare Medal is an annual award given by the University of Notre Dame in recognition of outstanding service to the Catholic Church and society. The award is given to an American Catholic or group of Catholics "whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the church and enriched the heritage of humanity." First awarded in 1883, it is the oldest and most prestigious award for American Catholics.

Overview

The medal is an external award which can be given to a person from outside the University of Notre Dame. It is named the Laetare Medal because the recipient of the award is announced in celebration of Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent.
The Laetare Medal was conceived by University of Notre Dame professor James Edwards as an American version of the papal award the Golden Rose. It was approved of by the university's founder Father Edward Sorin, C.S.C.. The Golden Rose has existed since the 11th century, and was customarily awarded to a royal person on Laetare Sunday, although this was rarely done during the 20th century. The university adapted this tradition — awarding a gold medal, instead of a rose — to a distinguished American Catholic on Laetare Sunday. The medal has the Latin inscription "Magna est veritas et praevalebit," meaning "Truth is mighty, and it shall prevail."
A candidate for the award must be a practicing American Catholic who has made a distinctively Catholic contribution in his or her professional or intellectual life, even if that contribution is at odds with Catholic teaching. A committee generally takes names of potential recipients from faculty and staff at the University of Notre Dame. They select two or three candidates from this group, which are voted on by the Officers of the University.

Recipients

, a historian of the Catholic Church in the United States, was the first person to be awarded the Laetare Medal in 1883. The recipients of the Laetare Medal come from varied fields. Recipients include jazz musicians, Cardinals, philanthropists, ambassadors, authors, opera singers, Senators, doctors, generals, and a U.S. President.
YearLaetare MedalistPositionYearLaetare MedalistPosition
1883John Gilmary SheaHistorian1952Thomas E. MurrayMember of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
1884Patrick Charles KeelyArchitect1953I.A. O'ShaughnessyPhilanthropist
1885Eliza Allen StarrArt Critic1954Jefferson CafferyDiplomat
1886General John NewtonEngineer1955George MeanyLabor Leader
1887Edwin PreussPublicist1956General Alfred M. GruentherSoldier
1888Patrick V. HickeyFounder and Editor of The Catholic Review1957Clare Boothe LuceDiplomat
1889Anna Hanson DorseyNovelist1958Frank M. FolsomIndustrialist
1890William J. OnahanOrganizer of the American Catholic Congress1959Robert Daniel MurphyDiplomat
1891Daniel DoughertyOrator1960George N. ShusterEducator
1892Henry F. BrownsonPhilosopher and Author1961John F. KennedyPresident of the United States
1893Patrick DonahoeFounder of the Boston Pilot1962Francis J. BracelandPsychiatrist
1894Augustin DalyTheatrical Producer1963Admiral George Whelan Anderson, Jr.Chief of Naval Operations
1895Mary Anne SadlierNovelist1964Phyllis McGinleyPoet
1896General William Starke RosencransSoldier1965Frederick D. RossiniScientist
1897Thomas Addis EmmetPhysician1966Patrick F. & Patricia Caron CrowleyFounders of The Christian Movement
1898Timothy Edward HowardJurist1967J. Peter GraceIndustrialist
1899Mary Gwendolin CaldwellPhilanthropist1968Robert Sargent ShriverDiplomat
1900John A. CreightonPhilanthropist1969William J. Brennan Jr.Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
1901William Bourke CockranOrator1970Dr. William B. WalshPhysician
1902John Benjamin MurphySurgeon1971Walter Kerr & Jean KerrDrama Critic and Author
1903Charles Joseph BonaparteLawyer1972Dorothy DayFounder of the Catholic Worker Movement
1904Richard C. KerensDiplomat1973Rev. John A. O'BrienAuthor
1905Thomas B. FitzpatrickPhilanthropist1974James A. FarleyBusiness Executive and Former Postmaster General
1906Francis J. QuinlanPhysician1975Sr. Ann Ida Gannon, BMVPresident of Mundelein College
1907Katherine Eleanor ConwayJournalist and Author1976Paul HorganAuthor
1908James C. MonaghanEconomist1977Mike MansfieldFormer Senate Majority Leader
1909Frances Tieran Novelist1978Msgr. John Tracy EllisChurch Historian
1910Maurice Francis EganAuthor and Diplomat1979Helen HayesActress
1911Agnes RepplierAuthor1980Thomas P. O'Neill Jr.Speaker of the House
1912Thomas M. MulryPhilanthropist1981Edmund Sixtus MuskieSecretary of State
1913Charles George HerbermannEditor of the Catholic Encyclopedia1982John Francis Cardinal DeardenArchbishop Emeritus of Detroit
1914Edward Douglass WhiteChief Justice of the United States1983Edmund & Evelyn StephanChairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees and his wife
1915Mary Virginia MerrickPhilanthropist1984John T. Noonan, Jr.Lawyer
1916James Joseph WalshPhysician and Author1985Guido CalabresiDean of the Yale Law School
1917Admiral William Shepherd BensonChief of Naval Operations1986Thomas & Mary Elizabeth CarneyChairman of the Board of Trustees and his wife
1918Joseph ScottLawyer1987Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, CSCPresident of the University of Notre Dame
1919George L. DuvalPhilanthropist1988Eunice Kennedy ShriverFounder & Chairwoman of the Special Olympics
1920Lawrence Francis FlickPhysician1989Walker PercyNovelist
1921Elizabeth NourseArtist1990Sister Thea Bowman Educator
1922Charles Patrick NeillEconomist1991Corinne Lindy BoggsFormer Louisiana Congresswoman
1923Walter George SmithLawyer1992Daniel Patrick MoynihanU.S. Senator from New York
1924Charles Donagh MaginnisArchitect1993Donald R. KeoughChairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees
1925Albert Francis ZahmScientist1994Sidney CallahanEducator and Journalist
1926Edward Nash HurleyBusinessman1995Joseph Cardinal BernardinArchbishop of Chicago
1927Margaret AnglinActress1996Sister Helen PrejeanDeath Penalty Abolitionist
1928John Johnson SpaldingLawyer1997Rev. Virgilio ElizondoTheologian and Activist
1929Alfred Emmanuel SmithStatesman1998Dr. Edmund D. PellegrinoMedical Ethicist and Educator
1930Frederick Philip KenkelPublicist1999Philip GleasonProfessor Emeritus of History, Notre Dame
1931James J. PhelanBusinessman2000Andrew McKennaChairman of the Board of Trustees
1932Stephen J. MaherPhysician2001Msgr. George G. HigginsPriest and Labor Activist
1933John McCormackArtist2002Father John SmythExecutive Director of Maryville Academy
1934Genevieve Garvan BradyPhilanthropist2003Peter and Margaret O'Brien SteinfelsEditors of Commonweal
1935Francis Hamilton SpearmanNovelist2004Father J. Bryan HehirPresident of Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Boston
1936Richard ReidJournalist and Lawyer2005Dr. Joseph E. MurraySurgeon & Nobel Prize Winner
1937Jeremiah D. M. FordScholar2006Dave BrubeckJazz Pianist
1938Irvin William AbellSurgeon2007Patrick McCartanChairman of the Board of Trustees
1939Josephine Van Dyke BrownsonCatechist2008Martin SheenActor
1940General Hugh Aloysius DrumSoldier2009NOT AWARDED
1941William Thomas WalshJournalist and Author2010Dana GioiaPoet and Chairman of National Endowment for the Arts
1942Helen Constance WhiteAuthor and Teacher2011Sister Mary Scullion, R.S.M., & Joan McConnonSocial Advocates
1943Thomas Francis WoodlockEditor2012Ken HackettFormer President of Catholic Relief Services
1944Anne O'Hare McCormickJournalist2013Sister Susanne Gallagher, S.P.
Sister Mary Therese Harrington, S.H.
Rev. James H. McCarthy		Founders of S.P.R.E.D.
1945Gardiner Howland ShawDiplomat2014Kenneth R. MillerProfessor of Biology at Brown University
1946Carlton J. H. HayesHistorian and Diplomat2015Aaron NevilleR&B Singer
1947William G. BrucePublisher and Civic Leader2016Joseph Biden
John Boehner		Vice President of the United States
former Speaker of the House of Representatives
1948Frank C. WalkerPostmaster General and Civic Leader2017Father Greg Boyle, S.J.Founder of Homeboy Industries
1949Irene Dunne GriffinActress2018Sister Norma Pimentel, M.J.Executive Director, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley
1950General Joseph L. CollinsSoldier2019Dr. Norman FrancisPresident Emeritus, Xavier University of Louisiana and civil rights leader
1951John Henry PhelanPhilanthropist2020Kathleen McChesneyFormer FBI executive assistant director and director of USCCB Office of Child Protection

2009 Laetare Medal

professor and former United States Ambassador to the Holy See, Mary Ann Glendon, was chosen as the 2009 recipient but declined the award when the University, as part of its justification of its controversial decision to name Barack Obama as its commencement speaker and grant him an honorary degree, issued "talking points" stating that "President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal.... We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about." In light of Obama's strong pro-choice policies, Glendon considered Notre Dame's decision to be in violation of a 2004 pronouncement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops instructing Catholic institutions not to provide "honors, awards, or platforms" to "those who act in defiance of fundamental moral principles." She also believed that the University's statements had placed her in an untenable position; as she wrote in her letter declining the medal, "A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision—in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops—to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice." Notre Dame ultimately selected 1984 Laetare recipient Judge John T. Noonan, Jr. to speak in the spirit of the Laetare award, choosing not to award the 2009 medal.