Peter and Margaret O'Brien Steinfels to receive 2003 Laetare Medal | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Peter and Margaret O'Brien Steinfels to receive 2003 Laetare Medal Peter and Margaret O'Brien Steinfels to receive 2003 Laetare Medal Published: March 26, 2003 Author: Michael O. Garvey Peter and Margaret O’Brien Steinfels have been awarded the University of Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal for 2003. They will receive the medal, the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics, during the University’s 158th Commencement exercises on May 18 (Sunday). “Peter and Peggy Steinfels live out and articulate a compelling response to the Catholic vocation,” said Notre Dame’s president, Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C. “As married people, as intellectuals, and as children of the Church, their witness to the Kingdom has been splendid and exemplary.” Both Chicago natives, Mr. and Mrs. Steinfels have been successive editors of Commonweal, an independent biweekly journal of political, religious and literary opinion published by Catholic laypeople. Both have earned national reputations as commentators on the Catholic Church in the United States. Peter Steinfels was graduated from Loyola University in 1963 and holds master’s and doctoral degrees in European history from Columbia University. While in graduate school at Columbia, he began work as an editorial assistant at Commonweal and had become associate editor before leaving the magazine staff in 1972 to take a position at the Hastings Center, a bioethics think-tank. While at the Hastings Center, he continued to write columns for Commonweal, returning to its staff as editor in 1979. He left Commonweal again in 1988 to become senior religion correspondent for The New York Times, where his “Beliefs” column continues to appear. He has written articles and reviews in numerous other journals and is the author of “The Neoconservatives: The Men Who Are Changing America’s Politics.” He also is a former member of the American studies faculty of Notre Dame, where he was the visiting W. Harold and Martha Welch Professor in 1994. Margaret O’Brien Steinfels also was graduated from Loyola University in 1963 and holds a master’s degree in American history from New York University. She wrote film reviews for Today magazine before becoming a reporter and columnist at the National Catholic Reporter from 1969-71. In addition to her freelance writing, she was editor of the Hastings Center Report, executive editor of Christianity and Crisis, and editor of Church magazine before succeeding her husband as Commonweal editor in 1988. She resigned as editor earlier this year. She is the author of “Who’s Minding the Children? The History and Politics of Day Care in America,” and she gave the Commencement address and received an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1991. The Steinfels’ were married in 1963 and are the parents of Gabrielle Hendricks and John Steinfels and the grandparents of Max Hendricks. The Laetare (pronounced Lay-tah-ray) Medal is so named because its recipient is announced each year in celebration of Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent on the Church calendar. “Laetare,” the Latin word for “rejoice,” is the first word in the entrance antiphon of the Mass that Sunday, which ritually anticipates the celebration of Easter. The medal bears the Latin inscription, “Magna est veritas et prevalebit”—“Truth is mighty, and it shall prevail.” Established at Notre Dame in 1883, the Laetare Medal was conceived as an American counterpart of the Golden Rose, a papal honor which antedates the 11th century. The medal has been awarded annually at Notre Dame to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church and enriched the heritage of humanity.” Among the 124 previous recipients of the Laetare Medal (see accompanying list) are Civil War General William Rosecrans, operatic tenor John McCormack, President John F. Kennedy, Catholic Worker foundress Dorothy Day, novelist Walker Percy, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, and death penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean. THE LAETARE MEDAL “The Laetare Medal has been worn only by men and women whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church, and enriched the heritage of humanity.” * These are the exacting criteria employed by the University of Notre Dame in awarding its Laetare Medal each year. Established in 1883, the Medal was restricted to lay persons until 1968, when it was announced that henceforth priests and religious would also be eligible. Over the years the Laetare Medal has been presented to 96 men and 30 women—soldiers and statesmen, artists and industrialists, diplomats and philanthropists, educators and scientists. The Laetare Medal is the American counterpart of the “Golden Rose,” a papal honor antedating the eleventh century. The name of the recipient is announced each year on Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent and an occasion of joy in the liturgy of the Church. The Laetare Medal was conceived in 1883 by Professor James Edwards. His proposal met with the immediate approval of Rev. Edward F. Sorin, C.S.C., founder and first president of Notre Dame, and Rev. Thomas E. Walsh, C.S.C., then president of the University. Through the years the recipients of the Laetare Medal have been selected by a committee headed by the president of Notre Dame.p. Generally regarded as the most significant annual award conferred upon Catholics in the United States, the Laetare Medal consists of a solid gold disc suspended from a gold bar bearing the inscription, “Laetare Medal.” Inscribed in a border around the disc are the words, “Magna est veritas et praevalebit” (Truth is mighty and will prevail). The center design of the medal and the inscription on the reverse side are fashioned according to the profession of the recipient. The medal itself is not intended for wear, but there is a rosette, featuring a golden rose on a blue background. Excerpt from Laetare Medal citation presented to General William Starke Rosecrans in 1896. LAETARE MEDALISTS 1883 John Gilmary Shea, historian 1884 Patrick Charles Keeley, architect 1885 Eliza Allen Starr, art critic 1886 General John Newton, engineer 1887 Edward Preuss, publicist 1888 Patrick V. Hickey, founder and editor of the Catholic Review 1889 Anna Hansen Dorsey, novelist 1890 William J. Onahan, organizer of the American Catholic Congress 1891 Daniel Dougherty, orator 1892 Henry F. Brownson, philosopher and author 1893 Patrick Donohue, founder of the Boston Pilot 1894 Augustine Daly, theatrical producer 1895 Mary A. Sadlier, novelist 1896 General William Starke Rosecrans, soldier 1897 Thomas Addis Emmet, physician 1898 Timothy Edward Howard, jurist 1899 Mary Gwendolin Caldwell, philanthropist 1900 John A. Creighton, philanthropist 1901 William Bourke Cockran, orator 1902 John Benjamin Murphy, surgeon 1903 Charles Jerome Bonaparte, lawyer 1904 Richard C. Kerens, diplomat 1905 Thomas B. Fitzpatrick, philanthropist 1906 Francis J. Quinlan, physician 1907 Katherine Eleanor Conway, journalist and author 1908 James C. Monaghan, economist 1909 Frances Tiernan (Christian Reid), novelist 1910 Maurice Francis Egan, author and diplomat 1911 Agnes Replier, author 1912 Thomas M. Mulry, philanthropist 1913 Charles B. Herberman, editor-in-chief on the Catholic Encyclopedia 1914 Edward Douglas White, jurist and chief justice of the United States 1915 Mary V. Merrick, philanthropist 1916 James Joseph Walsh, physician and author 1917 William Shepherd Benson, admiral and Chief of Naval Operations 1918 Joseph Scott, lawyer 1919 George L. Duval, philanthropist 1920 Lawrence Francis Flick, physician 1921 Elizabeth Nourse, artist 1922 Charles Patrick Neill, economist 1923 Walter George Smith, lawyer 1924 Charles D. Maginnis, architect 1925 Albert Francis Zahm, scientist 1926 Edward Nash Hurley, businessman 1927 Margaret Anglin, actress 1928 John Johnson Spalding, lawyer 1929 Alfred Emmanuel Smith, statesman 1930 Frederick Philip Kenkel, publicist 1931 James J. Phelan, businessman 1932 Stephen J. Maher, physician 1933 John McCormack, artist 1934 Genevieve Garvan Brady, philanthropist 1935 Francis Hamilton Spearman, novelist 1936 Richard Reid, lawyer and journalist 1937 Jeremiah Denis M. Ford, scholar 1938 Irvin William Abell, surgeon 1939 Josephine Van Dyke Brownson, catechist 1940 General Hugh Aloysius Drum, soldier 1941 William Thomas Walsh, journalist and author 1942 Helen Constance White, author and teacher 1943 Thomas Francis Woodlock, editor 1944 Anne O’Hare McCormick, journalist 1945 G. Howland Shaw, diplomat 1946 Carlton J. H. Hayes, historian and diplomat 1947 William G. Bruce, publisher and civic leader 1948 Frank C. Walker, Postmaster General and civic leader 1949 Irene Dunne, actress 1950 General Joseph L. Collins, soldier 1951 John Henry Phelan, philanthropist 1952 Thomas E. Murray, member U.S. Atomic Energy Commission 1953 I.A. O’Shaughnessy, philanthropist 1954 Jefferson Caffery, diplomat 1955 George Meany, labor leader 1956 General Alfred M. Guenther, soldier 1957 Clare Boothe Luce, diplomat 1958 Frank M. Folsom, industrialist 1959 Robert D. Murphy, diplomat 1960 George N. Shuster, educator 1961 John F. Kennedy, President of the United States 1962 Francis J. Braceland, M.D., psychiatrist 1963 Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr., Chief of Naval operations 1964 Phyllis McGinley, poet 1965 Frederick D. Rossini, scientist 1966 Mr. and Mrs. Patrick F. Crowley, founders of The Christian Family Movement 1967 J. Peter Grace, industrialist 1968 Sargent Shriver, diplomat 1969 William J. Brennan, Jr., jurist and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States 1970 Dr. William B. Walsh, physician 1971 Walter Kerr, drama critic, and Jean Kerr, author 1972 Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, journalist and author 1973 Rev. John A. O’Brien, author 1974 James A. Farley, business executive and former Postmaster General 1975 Sister Ann Ida Gannon, B.V.M., educator 1976 Paul Horgan, author 1977 Mike Mansfield, United States Senator 1978 Msgr. John Tracy Ellis, historian 1979 Helen Hayes, actress 1980 Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, Jr., Speaker of the House 1981 Edmund S. Muskie, former United States Senator and Secretary of State 1982 Cardinal John Francis Dearden, retired Archbishop of Detroit 1983 Edmund A. and Evelyn Stephan, chairman emeritus of the University of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees and spouse 1984 John Noonan, legal scholar 1985 Guido Calabresi, dean of Yale University Law School 1986 Thomas P. and Mary Elizabeth Carney, chairman of the University of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees and spouse 1987 Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., educator 1988 Eunice Kennedy Shriver, humanitarian 1989 Walker Percy, novelist 1990 Sister Thea Bowman, Gospel singer and evangelist 1991 Corinne C.“Lindy” Boggs, former United States Congresswoman 1992 Daniel Patrick Moynihan, United States Senator 1993 Donald R. Keough, chairman emeritus of the University of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees 1994 Sidney Callahan, psychologist and author 1995 Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago 1996 Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., social activist 1997 Rev. Virgil Elizondo, theologian 1998 Dr. Edmund D. Pellegrino, doctor 1999 J. Philip Gleason, historian 2000 Andrew J. McKenna, chairman of the University of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees 2001 Msgr. George G. Higgins, labor priest 2002 Rev. John P. Smyth, executive director of Maryville Academy 2003 Peter and Margaret O’Brien Steinfels, editors of Commonweal TopicID: 3207 Posted In: Faith Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 03, 2022 dCEC to Award 2023 ND Evangelium Vitae Medal to Robert P. George September 22, 2022 In memoriam: Rev. 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