Papal Appointments
“There's only one way to do it ... [T]hat is to put yourself in the hands of the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Mother. You will see heartbreaks as well as days of great joy. There will be celebration as well as days of mourning in this church. But with the Holy Spirit behind you and the Holy Mother inspiring you, these will be great years.”—Father Hesburgh, in The Hesburgh Papers*
Father Hesburgh served as a permanent Vatican City representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, from 1956 to 1970.
In 1968, Pope Paul VI appointed Father Hesburgh head of the Vatican representatives attending the 20th anniversary of the United Nations' human rights declaration in Tehran, Iran.
At the request of Pope Paul VI, Father Hesburgh organized the construction of the Tantur Institute for Ecumenical Studies in Jerusalem in 1972.
Pope Paul VI appointed Father Hesburgh as a member of the Holy See's U.N. delegation in 1974.
In 1983, Pope John Paul II appointed Father Hesburgh to the Pontifical Council for Culture.
For more information about Father Hesburgh's papal appointments, please see the following sources:
*Hesburgh, Theodore Martin. The Hesburgh Papers: Higher Values in Higher Education. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1979. Print. Hesburgh, Theodore Martin, and Jerry Reedy. "Peace in our Time." God, Country, Notre Dame. New York: Doubleday, 1990. Print. Hesburgh, Theodore Martin, and Jerry Reedy. "The Holy Father." God, Country, Notre Dame. New York: Doubleday, 1990. Print. O'Brien, Michael. "Profile: The Priest." Hesburgh: a Biography. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America, 1998. Print.