Students from the Fort Wayne/South Bend diocese will soon begin to reap the benefits of a $250,000 scholarship fund established by the University of Notre Dame honoring Bishop John D'Arcy.

The scholarship fund was established this year to mark the fifth anniversary of Bishop D'Arcy's Episcopal ordination and the 15th anniversary of his installation as bishop of Fort Wayne/South Bend, Notre Dame's home diocese.

"I was very moved, completely surprised and very honored," said D'Arcy. "This scholarship shows that the relationship between the office of the bishop and the University of Notre Dame is the best in the country."

Bishop D'Arcy was born in Boston in 1932 to Irish immigrants. He studied in Brighton, Mass. at Saint John's Seminary, and was ordained to the priesthood on Feb. 2, 1957. In 1968, he received a doctorate in spiritual theology from the Angelicum in Rome. On Feb. 14, 1975, he was ordained an auxiliary bishop of Boston. In addition, he also worked at Saint John's Seminary as spiritual director and professor of spiritual theology from 1968-1985. He was installed as the eighth bishop of Fort Wayne/South Bend on May 1, 1985.

"Bishop D'Arcy is a most valued member of the Notre Dame family," said university President Father Edward Malloy in a press release. "As our bishop, he safeguards the union of this institution with it's mother Church, and as our friend, he both celebrates and exemplifies the joy of that union."

The Bishop John M. D'Arcy scholarships are being funded by various University benefactors and will be given to Notre Dame students from the Fort Wayne/South Bend diocese beginning in the fall of 2001 on the basis of need and resources available from the fund.

"Notre Dame lives its life in this diocese, despite being an international University," said D'Arcy. "It is a great consolation to me that this scholarship fund has been established to enable more students from this diocese to attend the University."

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