• Event Details
• Forum
• Ceremonies
• Celebration
• Jenkins Biography

The Presidential Inauguration of Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.,
September 22-23, 2005

The celebration of Mass, the pageantry of an academic procession and the ceremonial traditions of a presidential investiture were the climactic events of the Inauguration of Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., as Notre Dame's 17th president on Friday, September 23, 2005.

Inauguration Mass

Dozens of priests and visiting bishops, cardinals and other religious concelebrated Mass at 10 a.m. Friday, recognizing Notre Dame's enduring relationship with the Catholic Church and with its founding order, the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Academic Procession

The Academic Procession included some 1,000 participants donned in the traditional vestments of their degree-granting institutions.

Investiture

The Investiture of Father Jenkins was a ceremony of symbolic welcoming and transition. Representatives of government, higher education, the Holy Cross order and Notre Dame's faculty, students and alumni vowed their support as they issue official greetings to the new president.

Father Jenkins accepted the office as the Board of Trustees Chairman Patrick F. McCartan presented two symbols of leadership and authority: the Presidential medal and the University Mace. His subsequent inaugural address allows Father Jenkins, who took office July 1, to issue a universal message about Notre Dame's future.

• Streaming Video:
  • Broadband
  • Modem
• Audio Download:
  • Convocation audio
    (including inaugural address)
    (114 MB audio .mp3)
• Text Version:
  • Rev. John I. Jenkins' Inaugural Address