Three Catholic Universities Aced Choice in Commencement Speakers

Every year, universities across the United States will graduate thousands of young men and women in their majors associated with their graduate or undergraduate studies. One thing that jumps out is the speaker who is chosen to address the graduates. Many secular universities would settle for mainstream celebrities or motivational speakers.

Yet, there is a glimpse of hope among the authentic Catholic universities across the country. Benedictine College, along with Ave Maria and Catholic Universities selected a familiar name to many of us. Each speaker hit their address out of the ballpark.

Benedictine College

This year, Benedictine College chose Harrison Butker, a three-time Super Bowl kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs. Butker has made headways with his remarks slamming President Biden (no shame in giving him a kick in the head) over his public stance on abortion while professing his Catholic faith. Last year, he spoke at his alma mater at Georgia Tech, where he encouraged graduates to get married and have children.

In his remarks to the newest alumni, Butker slammed the culture of death and encouraged them to be authentic witnesses.  Further, he talked about the need for more bold shepherds like St. Damien of Molokai.

“For as a father loves his child, so a shepherd should love his spiritual children, too. That goes even more so for our bishops, these men who are present-day apostles.” Butker suggests.

“Today, our shepherds are far more concerned with keeping the doors open to the chancery than they are with saying the difficult stuff out loud. It seems that the only time you hear from your bishops is when it’s time for the annual appeal, whereas we need our bishops to be vocal about the teachings of the Church, setting aside their own personal comfort and embracing their cross,” Butker continued.

When it came to the leadership of the Biden Administration, he never shied away from his thoughts. He shared how disgraceful it was that a Catholic president made the sign of the cross during a rally in Florida in support of a diabolic amendment that can legalize abortion in the state.

“Our own nation is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith, but at the same time is delusional enough to make the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally. He has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I’m sure to many people it appears that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice,” Butker said.

“He is not alone,” he continued. “From the man behind the COVID lockdowns to the people pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America, they all have a glaring thing in common. They are Catholic. This is an important reminder that being Catholic alone doesn’t cut it.”

Butker encouraged the graduates to stop catering to the church of Nice and engage in bold faith and charity without being cowards. He reminds them that they sit on the edge of the

Watch his full address here.

Ave Maria University

Graduates of Ave Maria were in for an amazing treat. The commencement speaker was someone who practically needed no introduction at all, Fr. Mike Schmitz. Yes, the enthusiastic priest who runs two podcasts, weekly videos with Ascension, and some apologetic books under his belt.

Fr. Mike addressed the graduates on how God will teach them in the wilderness about how to handle the things that will come their way one step at a time.

Drawing from his own experience as a recent college graduate, he challenged them to lead others to the wilderness. He shared that days will be easy, complicated, and even challenging. Yet, God is with them.

“You got to this day, and the track runs out. This is the day you enter the wilderness.” Fr. Mike encouraged.

Watch his full speech here.

Catholic University

The 135th commencement at the Catholic University of America got to witness the second coming of Christ (not quite). This was in the form of The Chosen star Jonathan Roumie. Roumie lent his voice to many praying features of the Hallow App. What is more profound about him is his gig in portraying Jesus on a popular series called, The Chosen.

Roumie focused his speech more on how the graduates can be Jesus to the world. It’s fitting for the actor who portrays him in the popular series.

“Don’t pick up the can of gasoline and pour it into the flame of chaos. Instead, have a hose filled with words of comfort and consolation” He addressed the graduates.

Watch his full address here

These three Catholic institutes of higher learning have set the tone for what commencement speeches should be about. It’s not to advance a political agenda. Rather, it is to inspire them to live out their faith and perfect their path to heaven.