An Extraordinary Life
In 1952, at the age of 35, Rev. Theodore Martin Hesburgh, C.S.C., was handed the keys to the President's office at the University of Notre Dame.
For the next 35 years Father Hesburgh and Notre Dame made headlines and history as he guided, pressed, and pushed the institution to fulfill his vision for creating a truly great Catholic university for the modern world. And over the next six decades he became one of the most influential forces in American higher education and most respected voices in the Catholic Church.
He served popes and U.S. presidents; directed the boards of banks, foundations, and international commissions; and worked globally for peace and justice. And yet his extraordinary life of leadership and service, he often explained, was merely a response to his calling as a Catholic priest.