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NDQuick Facts > Laetare Medal Recipients
Information compiled from a1974 list maintained by the former Department of Information Services.University Archivists have added to the list since then throughNotre Dame Report, press releases andcommencement programs.
Year | Laetare Medalist | Position |
| 1883 | JohnGilmary Shea | Historian |
| 1884 | PatrickCharles Keeley | Architect |
| 1885 | ElizaAllen Starr | ArtCritic |
| 1886 | GeneralJohn Newton | Engineer |
| 1887 | EdwardPreuss | Publicist |
| 1888 | PatrickV. Hickey | Founderand Editor of the Catholic Review |
| 1889 | AnnaHansen Dorsey | Novelist |
| 1890 | WilliamJ. Onahan | Organizerof the American Catholic Congress |
| 1891 | DanielDougherty | Orator |
| 1892 | HenryF. Brownson | Philosopherand Author |
| 1893 | PatrickDonohue | Founderof the Boston Pilot |
| 1894 | AugustineDaly | TheatricalProducer |
| 1895 | MaryAnne Sadlier | Novelist |
| 1896 | GeneralWilliam Starke Rosecrans | Soldier |
| 1897 | ThomasAddis Emmet | Physician |
| 1898 | TimothyEdward Howard | Jurist |
| 1899 | MaryGwendolin Caldwell | Philanthropist |
| 1900 | JohnA. Creighton | Philanthropist |
| 1901 | WilliamBourke Cockran | Orator |
| 1902 | JohnBenjamin Murphy | Surgeon |
| 1903 | CharlesJerome Bonaparte | Lawyer |
| 1904 | RichardC. Kerens | Diplomat |
| 1905 | ThomasB. Fitzpatrick | Philanthropist |
| 1906 | FrancisJ. Quinlan | Physician |
| 1907 | KatherineEleanor Conway | Journalistand Author |
| 1908 | JamesC. Monaghan | Economist |
| 1909 | FrancesTieran (Christian Reid) | Novelist |
| 1910 | MauriceFrancis Egan | Authorand Diplomat |
| 1911 | AgnesReplier | Author |
| 1912 | ThomasM. Mulry | Philanthropist |
| 1913 | CharlesB. Herberman | Editorof the Catholic Encyclopedia |
| 1914 | EdwardDouglas White | Juristand Chief Justice of the United States |
| 1915 | MaryV. Merrick | Philanthropist |
| 1916 | JamesJoseph Walsh | Physicianand Author |
| 1917 | WilliamSheperd Benson | Admiraland Chief of Naval Operations |
| 1918 | JosephScott | Lawyer |
| 1919 | GeorgeL. Duval | Philanthropist |
| 1920 | LawrenceFrancis Flick | Physician |
| 1921 | ElizabethNourse | Artist |
| 1922 | CharlesPatrick Neill | Economist |
| 1923 | WalterGeorge Smith | Lawyer |
| 1924 | CharlesD. Maginnis | Architect |
| 1925 | AlbertFrancis Zahm | Scientist |
| 1926 | EdwardNash Hurley | Businessman |
| 1927 | MargaretAnglin | Actress |
| 1928 | JohnJohnson Spaulding | Lawyer |
| 1929 | AlfredEmmanuel Smith | Statesman |
| 1930 | FrederickPhilip Kenkel | Publicist |
| 1931 | JamesJ. Phelan | Businessman |
| 1932 | StephenJ. Maher | Physician |
| 1933 | JohnMcCormack | Artist |
| 1934 | GenevieveGarvan Brady | Philanthropist |
| 1935 | FrancisHamilton Spearman | Novelist |
| 1936 | RichardReid | Journalistand Lawyer |
| 1937 | JeremiahDenis M. Ford | Scholar |
| 1938 | IrvinWilliam Abell | Surgeon |
| 1939 | JosephineVan Dyke Brownson | Catechist |
| 1940 | GeneralHugh Aloysius Drum | Soldier |
| 1941 | WilliamThomas Walsh | Journalistand Author |
| 1942 | HelenConstance White | Authorand Teacher |
| 1943 | ThomasFrancis Woodlock | Editor |
| 1944 | AnneO'Hare McCormick | Journalist |
| 1945 | GardinerHowland Shaw | Diplomat |
| 1946 | CarltonJ.H. Hayes | Historianand Diplomat |
| 1947 | WilliamG. Bruce | Publisherand Civic Leader |
| 1948 | FrankC. Walker | PostmasterGeneral and Civic Leader |
| 1949 | IreneDunne Griffin | Actress |
| 1950 | GeneralJoseph L. Collins | Soldier |
| 1951 | JohnHenry Phelan | Philanthropist |
| 1952 | ThomasE. Murray | Memberof the US Atomic Energy Commission |
| 1953 | I.A.O'Shaughnessy | Philanthropist |
| 1954 | JeffersonCaffery | Diplomat |
| 1955 | GeorgeMeany | LaborLeader |
| 1956 | GeneralAlfred M. Gruenther | Soldier |
| 1957 | ClareBoothe Luce | Diplomat |
| 1958 | FrankM. Folsom | Industrialist |
| 1959 | RobertD. Murphy | Diplomat |
| 1960 | GeorgeN. Shuster | Educator |
| 1961 | JohnF. Kennedy (JFK) | Presidentof the United States |
| 1962 | FrancisJ. Braceland, MD | Psychiatrist |
| 1963 | AdmiralGeorge W. Anderson Jr. | Chiefof Naval Operations |
| 1964 | PylllisMcGinley | Poet |
| 1965 | FrederickD. Rossini | Scientist |
| 1966 | PatrickF. and Patricia Caron Crowley | Foundersof The Christian Movement |
| 1967 | J.Peter Grace | Industrialist |
| 1968 | RobertSargent Shriver | Diplomat |
| 1969 | WilliamJ. Brennan Jr. | Juristand Associate Justice of the Supreme Court |
| 1970 | Dr.William B. Walsh | Physician |
| 1971 | WalterKerr & Jean Kerr | DramaCritic & Author |
| 1972 | DorothyDay | Founderof the Catholic Worker Movement, Journalist and Author |
| 1973 | Rev.John A. O'Brien | Author and educator |
| 1974 | JamesA. Farley | BusinessExecutive and Former Post Master General |
| 1975 | Sr.Ann Ida Gannon, BMV | President of Mundelein College |
| 1976 | PaulHorgan | Author |
| 1977 | MikeMansfield | FormerSenate Majority Leader |
| 1978 | Msgr.John Tracy Ellis | Author and educator |
| 1979 | HelenHayes | Actress |
| 1980 | ThomasP. (Tip) O'Neill Jr. | Congressman(Speaker of the House) |
| 1981 | EdmundSixtus Muskie | Secretaryof State |
| 1982 | CardinalJohn Francis Dearden | Retired Archbishop of Detroit |
| 1983 | Edmund& Evelyn Stephan | Chairman Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame's Board of Trustees and wife |
| 1984 | JohnThomas Noonan Jr. | Legal scholar |
| 1985 | GuidoCalabresi | Deanof Yale University Law School |
| 1986 | Thomas& Mary Elizabeth Carney | Chairman of the University of Notre Dame's Board of Trustees and wife |
| 1987 | TheodoreHesburgh | Presidentof the University of Notre Dame |
| 1988 | EuniceKennedy Shriver | SpecialOlympics Chairwoman |
| 1989 | WalkerPercy | Novelist |
| 1990 | SisterThea Bowman (posthumously) | Gospel singer and evangelist |
| 1991 | CorrineLindy Boggs | FormerLouisiana Congresswoman |
| 1992 | DanielPatrick Moynihan | Senatorfrom New York |
| 1993 | DonaldR. Keough | ChairmanEmeritus of the Board of Trustees |
| 1994 | SidneyCallahan | Professorof Psychology at Mercy College and Columnist for "Commonweal" Magazine |
| 1995 | CardinalJoseph Bernardin | Archbishopof Chicago |
| 1996 | SisterHelen Prejean | DeathPenalty Abolitionist |
| 1997 | Rev.Virgil Elizando | US& Mexico Minister to the Poor |
| 1998 | Dr.Edmund Pellegrino | GeorgetownMedicine & Medical Ethics Professor |
| 1999 | PhilipGleason | ProfessorEmeritus of History at Notre Dame |
| 2000 | AndrewMcKenna | Boardof Trustees Chairman |
| 2001 | Msgr.George G. Higgins | Scholar and activist |
| 2002 | FatherJohn Smyth | ExecutiveDirector of Maryville Academy in Des Plaines, Illinois |
| 2003 | Peterand Margaret O'Brien Steinfels | Editorsof Commonweal |
| 2004 | FatherJ. Bryan Hehir | Presidentof Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston |
| 2005 | Dr.Joseph E. Murray | Surgeon |
| 2006 | DaveBrubeck | Jazzpianist |
| 2007 | PatrickMcCartan | NDBoard of Trustees Chairman |
| 2008 | MartinSheen | Actor |
| 2009 | Mary Ann Glendon declined the Laetare medal in protest of President Barack Obama as Commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient. The medal was not awarded this year. Judge John T. Noonan Jr., the 1984 recipient of the Laetare Medal, accepted an invitation to deliver an address in the spirit of the award at Notre Dame’s 164th University Commencement Ceremony on May 17, 2009. His speech was in lieu of awarding the medal this year. | |
| 2010 | DanaGioia | Poetand former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts |
| 2011 | Sister Mary Scullion, R.S.M., and Joan McConnon | Co-founders of Project H.O.M.E. |
| 2012 | Ken Hackett | Former president of Catholic Relief Servies (CRS) |
| 2013 | Sister Susanne Gallagher, S.P.; Sister Mary Therese Harrington, S.H.; and Rev. James H. McCarthy | Founders of theSpecial Religious Education Development Network (SPRED) |
| 2014 | Kenneth R. Miller | Professor of biology at Brown University |
| 2015 | Aaron Neville | Musician |
| 2016 | Joe Biden and John Boehner | Statesmen |
| 2017 | Rev. Gregory J. Boyle, S.J. | Founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries |
| 2018 | Sister Norma Pimentel, M.J. | Executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley |
| 2019 | Norman Francis | President Emeritus of Xavier University |
| 2020 | Kathleen McChesney | Law enforcement trailblazer and victim advocate |
| 2021 | Carla Harris | Vice chairman of wealth management and senior client adviser at Morgan Stanley |
| 2022 | Sharon Lavigne | Founder and director of Rise St. James |
| 2023 | Sister Rosemary Connelly, R.S.M. | Former executive director of Misericordia |
| 2024 | Claire Babineaux-Fontenot | CEO of Feeding America |
| 2025 | Kerry Alys Robinson | President and chief executive officer of Catholic Charities USA |
| 2026 | ||
