By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
Even though President Barack Obama insisted that Georgetown University cover all symbols of Christ during a recent speech, when he receives an honorary law degree from Notre Dame on May 17 he will be wearing a robe emblazoned with a cross and a prayer to Our Lady.
According to a report by CNSNews.com, when asked whether the president would wear the traditional doctoral robe, Notre Dame Spokesman Dennis Brown answered simply, “Yes.”
The Notre Dame doctoral robe bears an emblem that features a cross and a book with a prayer inscribed in it, a star in the upper left-hand corner and two wavy lines at the bottom.
The University’s website explains that the official title of the university is “Universitas Dominae Nostrae a Lacu”—the University of Our Lady by the Lake–and thus the star is presented because it is “reminiscent of the beautiful epithet Star of the Sea” and “was chosen as Mary’s symbol in the new shield of arms.”
The two wavy lines are “poetically expressive of the dedication of the University to the Star of the Sea.”
Members of the Congregation of Holy Cross who founded Notre Dame are represented by the cross.
“The open book is always emblematic of an institution of learning,” says the publication on the Notre Dame website. “The phrase ‘Vita, Dulcedo, Spes,’ taken from the ancient prayer to the Virgin, the ‘Salve Regina,’ means ‘our life, our sweetness, our hope’ the combination of these phrases with the symbol for the university indicates the dedication of all Notre Dame’s activities, intellectual, spiritual, athletic, and so on, to Our Lady.”
The University says that “everybody” wears the traditional doctoral robe when receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame.
In 2001, when President Bush received an honorary law degree from Notre Dame, he wore the school’s traditional doctoral robe inscribed with the prayer to the Virgin Mary.
In 2008, when actor Martin Sheen received the Laetare Award from Notre Dame at its commencement ceremony, he wore the same traditional Notre Dame robe.
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