Come, Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit reveals a spirituality intimately connected to the daily life of Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC, affectionately known as “Fr. Ted”—prominent priest, civil rights activist, public servant, and former president of the University of Notre Dame. In this first collection of his spiritual writings, Hesburgh is revealed to be a person of action with an even more dynamic spiritual life.

Hesburgh wholeheartedly embraced his role as pastor to the Notre Dame community and counted the day of his Ordination to the priesthood as the happiest in his life. Reflecting on his legacy, Hesburgh said that if he could have only one word on his tombstone, it would be “priest.” His homilies, lectures, prayers, and invocations display his characteristic wisdom and warmth and offer unique encouragement to contemporary readers pondering essential questions in their lives of faith, prayer, family, and peace.

Come, Holy Spirit sheds light on an underexplored facet of Hesburgh’s identity: While his life story has been widely told, few of his biographers explore in much detail how he nurtured his vocation through a commitment to prayer and daily celebration of the Mass. No collections of Hesburgh’s writings are currently in print, and no books of his spiritual writings were ever published during his lifetime.

This book is a perfect gift for any fan of Hesburgh or the University of Notre Dame.

Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, CSC (1917–2015), was a theologian, public servant, and the fifteenth president of the University of Notre Dame, serving from 1952 to 1987.

He is considered one of the most influential figures in higher education, national and international affairs, and the Catholic Church in the twentieth century Hesburgh would say, however, that his only vocation was to be a priest. “The happiest day of my life was when I was anointed a Catholic priest,” he said.

Hesburgh was ordained a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1943 and celebrated Mass almost every day after that. As president of Notre Dame, Hesburgh is recognized for opening enrollment to women in 1972, increasing minority representation in the workforce, doubling enrollment, and increasing faculty salaries, student aid, research funding, and endowment to the university.

Hesburgh is the recipient of 150 honorary degrees, a Guinness World Record. He was given sixteen presidential appointments and he served on the International Atomic Energy Agency, the National Science Board, and the Civil Rights Commission. He joined Martin Luther King Jr. at a civil rights rally at Soldier Field in 1964, an event memorialized in a now-iconic photo and statue of the two men holding hands.

Among his many awards and honors, Hesburgh was bestowed with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Congressional Gold Medal.

Todd C. Ream is a professor of higher education at Taylor University.

Hannah Pick is the program manager for the Dundon-Berchtold Institute for Moral Formation and Applied Ethics at the University of Portland.

Fr. Gerard J. Olinger, CSC, is the vice president of student affairs at the University of Notre Dame.