The University of Notre Dame celebrated its 180th Commencement Ceremony on Sunday (May 18) at Notre Dame Stadium. An audience of some 20,000 graduates, family members, friends and faculty attended, and 2,084 degrees were conferred on undergraduate students, with a total of 3,099 degrees being conferred over the course of Commencement Weekend activities.

Inaugurated as Notre Dame’s 18th president last year, Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., presided over the ceremony for the first time. He and John McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost, welcomed the guests and introduced the speakers.

Adm. Christopher Grady, the Vice Chairman and Acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, received an honorary degree and served as the principal speaker.

Honorary degrees also were conferred on Dr. Rafat Ansari, a South Bend oncologist, hematologist and community leader; Stephen Brogan, the former managing partner of Jones Day and an emeritus member of the University’s Board of Trustees; David Brooks, a renowned author and political and cultural commentator; Teresa Lambe, the Calleva Head of Vaccine Immunology at the University of Oxford and a principal investigator in the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine program; and Alice McDermott, a critically acclaimed and New York Times-bestselling author. Sister Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and the Governorate of Vatican City State, was also scheduled to receive an honorary degree, but due to the death of Pope Francis, Sister Petrini has elected to defer the honor until May 2026.

Salutatorian Bennett Schmitt, a native of Jasper, Indiana, who has majors in environmental sciences and applied and computational mathematics and statistics, offered an invocation.

“Almighty God, full of truth, mercy and unbounded love, at all times — and especially today — we root ourselves in gratitude for all You have given us.”

On behalf of the graduating class, Schmitt asked, “Lord, help us now to find our place in what comes next and answer Your call to be forces for good as we step forward today equipped with the training provided by Our Lady’s University.

“In a world facing threats to peace, justice and the very Earth that sustains us, Lord, help us to feel this heaviness not as a burden, but as a call to serve and to love radically.”

Valedictorian Clare Cullinan of South Bend, Indiana, a global affairs major in the Keough School of Global Affairs, recalled “numerous memorable events in this stadium since I was a little girl, but it is deeply humbling and a bit surreal to be standing here with all of you today.”

The Notre Dame family celebrates the good times and shows up for the bad, Cullinan said. “When my grandfather passed away at the beginning of this school year, Notre Dame showed up, traveling 10 hours and filling several pews of the church to support my family. When I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer my sophomore year of college, Notre Dame was there.”

Recalling Father Dowd’s inauguration speech that referenced the Notre Dame Forum theme “What do we owe each other?” Cullinan answered, “We owe it to each other to celebrate, challenge and create community.”

She appreciated the creation of Notre Dame’s Keough School as a member of its first graduating undergraduate class. She noted the collaboration of deans, professors and staff members “who are great leaders, wonderful mentors and builders of community.”

Using her guiding phrase “Lead, Kindly Light,” a song she recently sang with the Notre Dame Folk Choir at Westville Correctional Facility, Cullinan emphasized how important it is to show people the love of Christ and “that we share the light of the Notre Dame community with others beyond the borders of our campus.”

In his introduction of Adm. Grady, Father Dowd called him the Navy’s “Old Salt,” a nod to his extensive knowledge and expertise as the longest-serving surface warfare officer on active duty. Yet, Grady opened his remarks with humility and humor, declaring his connection to the class of 2025.

“Though I graduated here 41 years ago, I really am one of you,” he said. “Now, you might just say ‘OK boomer.’” When the graduates’ laughter tapered off, he emphasized that his honorary degree makes him a member of the class of 2025 and a Double Domer.

After decades in the Navy, Grady said he has been forged by the sea, but was first forged at Notre Dame.

He described today’s world as “congested, contested and complex,” marked by persistent conflicts, unresolved crises and unmet needs. “It is a world that needs Notre Dame graduates to be a force for good.”

Success in an imperfect world, he said, demands “commitment to trust and truth, to agility, to continuous improvement and commitment to moral courage.”

Grady shared several “sea stories” that, for him, anchored important lessons. “My best days in command were not when everything went right, but when things went wrong and the crew — the team — responded.

“Like on a beautiful day in the Arabian Gulf off the coast of Bahrain when a routine underway at sea was interrupted by a catastrophic failure and the crew responded expertly, swiftly and safely. Or when I was a strike group commander. We had to adjust to enemy tactics as we sent the air wing over the beach during the fight against ISIS.”

In another reference to Notre Dame’s Forum theme, Grady challenged graduates to reject the world’s “me, me, me” mantra and instead embrace continual self-assessment.

“Have the courage to be humble enough to admit that you are not perfect and that you can always improve.”

Grady’s own failure to do the right thing was the plot of one of his sea stories.

“I was bringing my ship into the port of Rome for Christmas. We had been at sea for over 100 days and the crew really needed a break. Families were flying in. It was Christmas, after all, and many were going to Mass with the pope. As we maneuvered into port, it was blowing a gale — 60 knots of wind, rain, terrible weather. And I thought about waiting until the weather cleared but did not want to disappoint the crew. That was the wrong answer. Though we made it in successfully, it was not my best landing.

“Remember you were forged here at Notre Dame,” Grady said. “You are part of a force for good, and they do not call us the Fighting Irish for nothing.”

Kerry Alys Robinson, president and chief executive officer of Catholic Charities USA and recipient of the 2025 Laetare Medal, confessed, “This is my very first time to this hallowed place. And I am speaking specifically of this magnificent college football cathedral.”

“Not born a Notre Dame football fan” like her husband, Robinson found herself “cheering wildly” during last year’s playoff games. She compared the student section’s “communal celebration” with the recent joy and hope of those gathering in St. Peter’s Square when the world learned of its new pope.

“As you venture forth from this beautiful campus today, I urge you to seek out, as frequently as you can, more moments of authentic human connection. Be present. Be generous. Be joyful. Be hopeful.”

Robinson cautioned against allowing political polarization and technological advances to divide and isolate, pointing instead to an “antidote to the epidemic of isolation and loneliness.”

“Our beloved Pope Francis gave us a term for this: Build a culture of encounter and accompaniment. The more open your eyes and your hearts are to others and their experiences, the more aware you will be of their humanity, their joy and their suffering and how you can be a beneficial presence to them.”

Calling generosity “humankind’s birthright,” Robinson said it’s not necessary to become an admiral or a Holy Cross priest to live a life of generosity and service. In 2024, more than 215,000 people volunteered at Catholic Charities agencies, she said.

“Will every second of your life be as euphoric as the moment Jeremiyah Love turned the corner and ran 98 yards for a touchdown on that cold December night?” Robinson asked.

Chase that kind of feeling by serving and showing up for others, she said with a closing observation from Pope Leo XIV: “‘I’m so convinced that if we open our lives and our hearts to serve others, we — indeed like the Gospel says — receive a hundredfold in this life.’ Members of the class of 2025, that is my wish for you in your lives.”

The ceremony concluded with a benediction by Rev. Canon Hugh R. Page Jr., vice president for institutional transformation and advisor to the president, and a performance of two songs including “Notre Dame, Our Mother” from alumni Alex and Veronica Mansour.

Father Dowd noted the presence of his predecessors, Rev. Edward A. “Monk” Malloy, C.S.C. and Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., and expressed gratitude for Father Jenkins’ support during his transition as president, as he delivered his charge to the graduating class.

“Last year, when a number of us had the privilege of meeting with the late Pope Francis, he asked us to continue to ensure that Notre Dame always educates the whole person in a way that integrates head, heart and hands.

“Lead with your heads, be generous with your hearts and extend your hands.

“Class of 2025, you will always be my first graduating class as president,” Father Dowd said to much applause. “And, as such, you will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Commencement 2025 transcripts and videos are located here.