It
was a celebration unlike any in University history. The occasion
was the inauguration of Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, as Notre Dame's
17th president. But the two-day observance included fun and formalities,
fireworks, a dance, and a two-hour panel discussion hosted by
Tom Brokaw that explored the tensions between faith and politics
in a pluralistic world.
On the evening of September 22, 2005, the Marie P. DeBartolo
Center for the Performing Arts and Washington Hall hosted performances
by the Ramsey Lewis Trio, internationally acclaimed pianist Leon
Fleisher joined by the Notre Dame Symphony Orchestra, and bohola,
a Chicago-based Irish folk band -- and a screening of Babette's
Feast, one of Father Jenkins's favorite movies.
On September 23, Father Jenkins celebrated Mass in Sacred Heart
Basilica, and, later, about 1,000 faculty, trustees, alumni and
guests -- attired in academic garb -- processed from the Main
Building to the Joyce Center for the official convocation ceremony
during which Father Jenkins was invested and gave his inaugural
address.
In addition to these highlights, there were dinners and receptions,
a staff breakfast and student entertainments. The festivities
-- as much about the University as the man installed as its president
-- had their solemn moments, their expressions of faith and vision,
their affirmations of institutional renewal and resolve to go
along with the conviviality.
