Dear friends: I wanted to share a very moving story, which I heard during my time at Notre Dame recently, while on a tour of the library of the former president Theodore Hesburgh, CSC.
It is the tale of dramatic encounter after the commencement ceremony in 1960, at which were present both President Eisenhower and Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, then the Archbishop of Milan who, in a few years would become Pope Paul VI. For some context, it is only 15 years after the end of the Second World War. It’s told in Father Hesburgh’s book “God, Country and Notre Dame.”
“We wanted to make sure that Eisenhower and Montini had some time together during their relatively brief stay on campus, and so we arranged a meeting at the Morris Inn when the commencement ceremonies had ended. We presented both our guests with token gifts of appreciation. Ned Joyce had gathered some souvenirs for Ike, small things like Notre Dame caps and buttons and a few joke items like a putter that broke in half as soon as you swung it and a miniature football for his grandson, David.
“When the President thanked us for our gifts, Montini started speaking slowly in Italian. He said that he, too, had something for Eisenhower. Then he produced a beautiful blue box and opened it. Inside was a block of marble and a bronze angel holding several severed chains. Montini said the statue was symbolic of what Eisenhower had done for Europe. At the base of the statue was a scriptural quote in Latin from the Old Testament: “Et abstulerit vincula de medio eorum,” which in English is: ‘He took the chains from their midst.’
“Montini added his own comment: ‘You freed us and we are deeply grateful.’
“Ike was very moved by this. For a moment or so, he choked up and could not speak. Finally, the thanked the Pope, and their visit came to an end.”
From “God, Country and Notre Dame.” Image: Courtesy of Notre Dame University.
