A call to service
As the United States prepares to mark a significant historical milestone, the need for people devoted to service has never been greater—especially in one profession that might seem a dubious choice, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher told the Boston College Class of 2026 at the University’s 150th Commencement Exercises Monday in Alumni Stadium.
“If you really want to help, if you want to aid others, if you want to serve,” said the archbishop, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, “consider going into politics.”
His position as the Vatican’s foreign secretary often entails meeting politicians, Archbishop Gallagher explained, and while he doesn’t always agree with them, “I am consistently impressed by the sacrifice and commitment to the service of others that I see in them.”
Public servants don’t always have the best reputation, he acknowledged—and in some cases it’s well deserved—“but the work they do is essential, and often comes at personal cost, for themselves and even their families. It is not easy to be a politician today almost anywhere. The challenges they have to face are enormous and the decisions that they must make are far from easy or simple.
“I have no doubt that as you look around the world today, there are things you would like to change, things that inspire you to act,” said the archbishop, adding his hope that the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence “will inspire more young people to consider the call to aid society through this work. You will not have an easy task, but you will certainly have my admiration, as indeed you have it in graduating today.”
L-R standing: Gloria "Glori" Alvarez, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Mathias Kiwanuka, BC Board of Trustees Chair John Fish, Sister Jeanette Gaudet, M.F.I.C. Seated: William S. Cummings, BC President William P. Leahy, S.J., Joyce M. Cummings. (Caitlin Cunningham)
In addition to Archbishop Gallagher, who was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, the University presented honorary degrees to Glori Alvarez ’88, P ’16, an entrepreneur and a member of the BC Alumni Association; Joyce M. and William S. Cummings, co-founders of one of New England’s largest philanthropic foundations; Sister Jeanette Gaudet, who has served for more than six decades with the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception; and Mathias Kiwanuka ’05, a former standout Boston College and NFL football player who now works on health issues and economic opportunities in his ancestral home of Uganda. [Read the honorary degree citations, and learn more about the recipients.]
Also at the ceremony, Ryan Milligan received the 2026 Edward H. Finnegan, S.J., Award as the graduating senior who best exemplifies the University’s motto, “Ever to Excel,” while Clough School of Theology and Ministry Professor Thomas Groome was presented with the Saint Robert Bellarmine, S.J., Award in recognition of his distinguished career and significant role in advancing the University’s mission.
The Class of 2026 also included the first cohort of graduates from Messina College, BC’s two-year associate’s degree program.
“ If you really want to help, if you want to aid others, if you want to serve: consider going into politics...It is my hope that this 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence will inspire more young people to consider the call to aid society through this work. You will not have an easy task but you will certainly have my admiration, as indeed you have it in graduating today. ”
This year marked the final Commencement for University President William P. Leahy, S.J., who will step down this summer; Senior Advisor to the President and University President-elect John T. Butler, S.J., gave the invocation at the event.
In his greeting Monday, Fr. Leahy offered his traditional acknowledgement for the graduates and their accomplishments—which have benefited the University community and helped BC “live out its mission, heritage, and culture as a Jesuit, Catholic university”—as well as the parents, spouses, family, and friends who provided them with support and encouragement. He also recognized the contributions of BC faculty and staff, as well as alumni, friends, and benefactors to the achievements of the Class of 2026.
A world struggling to overcome hunger, war, poverty, and illiteracy “desperately needs people of talent, moral and ethical values, generosity of heart, and willingness to invest themselves in working for the greater good and helping society be more just and welcoming to all,” said Fr. Leahy.
“We encourage those graduating today to continue drawing from the ideas, perspectives, and ethical norms rooted in Jesuit, Catholic beliefs and values,” he said. “In particular, we urge that members of the Boston College Class of 2026 commit to being beacons of hope and agents of reconciliation, and that they approach their futures as a vocation or calling, not solely as a career.”
Archbishop Gallagher’s remarks included observations about America at 250, a country founded not simply on the principle of independence but “in a clear moral, even theological claim about the dignity of the human person as a creation of God. That claim, that conviction, which is profoundly Christian, remains foundational and is something of which we must never lose sight. It means that human dignity is not granted or ceded, be it by the state, or government, or even popular consensus, but rather arises from truths about the human person that precede all those things. Before anything else, this nation is built on the firm base of God-given human dignity, everything else flows from there.”
Finnegan Award winner Ryan Milligan on stage with Fr. Leahy. (Caitlin Cunningham)
He also offered musings about the nature, purpose, and challenges of higher education, drawing on theological, philosophical, and literary references such as St. John Henry Newman, Lord Byron, Aristotle, St. Augustine, and Jean-Paul Sartre. He focused particularly on the writings of Newman about the idea of a university as a place where students and teachers gather, “‘not for the sake of the teachers, but for the sake of the students...They learn to respect, to consult, to aid each other.’” Those three verbs, said Archbishop Gallagher, are the keystone of a college education.
Clough School Professor Thomas Groome shakes hands with BC Board of Trustees Chair John Fish after receiving the Saint Robert Bellarmine, S.J., Award. (Caitlin Cunningham)
Respect must be given to others, even if we do not agree with them, he explained, pointing to the “all are created equal” phrase in the Declaration of Independence. “To learn to respect others is, in some ways, to learn how to live in society and the more deeply we learn that lesson, the stronger our societies become.”
Consult is not only about seeking knowledge and insight, but at its best, “the openness to hear the truth, he said. “To consult others, and to listen to them, is an essential part of education, and I would argue, of human life.”
Aid—the act of students helping one another—is no less critical to the college experience, Archbishop Gallagher continued, but is vulnerable in a market economy “that thrives on metrics of success and thus inculcates competitiveness.” This mindset creates a zero-sum game “where winning means everyone else has to lose,” given situations such as “a difficult jobs market in a certain sector, limited places on a specific course, one scholarship with a thousand applicants.
“These are realities that are faced by people every day. In that context, helping others can almost seem like an act of self-sabotage. And yet to aid, to help others, needs to be at the core, not only of university life, but also of civil society,” he said.
Graduating from a prestigious institution and preparing to enter the next phase of life should be an occasion to reflect on such acts of kindness, said the archbishop. “Each of you knows in your heart who you should be grateful to today, perhaps they are here with you. As you go forward in your lives, both personal and professional, your ability to aid, to help, to assist, will grow. I urge you all to take that seriously.”
Following the main Commencement event, the 4,493 members of the Class of 2026 received their undergraduate and graduate degrees at separate ceremonies held around campus.