Conversing with Fr. Tom Blantz is somewhat like reading Shakespearean comedy: it will inevitably cheer you up, give you food for thought, and entertain you with a subtle wit. Fr. Blantz first came to Notre Dame as a high school seminary student, eventually completing his BA in philosophy here in 1957. After this he spent four years at the Gregorian University in Rome, during which time he was ordained a priest. He completed a PhD at Columbia University in 1968 and has taught US history at Notre Dame ever since. He has served a variety of roles at Notre Dame, including vice president for Student Affairs and chair of the history department. Fr. Blantz currently resides in McGlinn Hall, where he serves as the dorm’s priest-in-residence. He celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination in October.
When did you first feel called to join the priesthood, and how did you decide to join Holy Cross?
I was in a high school seminary over in Holy Cross Hill. When I was in grade school there was a fellow I used to play basketball with, and he talked about coming here. He asked if I would come with him, and after talking it over a lot with my parents, I decided to give it a try. Our families were good friends and it looked like I wouldn’t be out here alone, and my parents told me to come home at any point if I no longer felt it was my vocation. My friend eventually left the seminary here and became a diocesan priest back home, but I stayed on and entered Moreau for my undergraduate years.
Your specialty is American history. If you had to pick one person in US history to emulate, who would it be and why?
Hmm, that’s a tough question. Of all the presidents, the one about whom I know the most is Franklin Roosevelt, and I like a lot of the things he did—the New Deal, etc. I certainly have a high regard for Abraham Lincoln. George Washington too, setting up the presidency and forming the country the way it is. All of these people had things in their private lives too, though—slavery and so on—so I don’t know that I would say I necessarily want to emulate them. There are also many priests and bishops in American history I admire. I wrote my dissertation on Bishop Francis Haas of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I have a great admiration for him and for his work with labor unions.
In what ways do you think education at the university level has changed since you first came to Notre Dame?
In a lot of ways, Ann. First, I think the academic standards have certainly gotten higher than they were when I was a student here. Many of the classes are much more difficult now than they were at that time. Secondly, the whole university has expanded so much more. We have better labs, a better library, and so on. The student body has changed—since 1972 we now have women. There have been a lot of changes, and I think most of them have certainly been for the better.
You teach a popular class on Notre Dame history. If you had to pick one lesson from the past that you think the university could from today, what would it be and why?
Notre Dame was founded as a Catholic university, and I think the Catholic mission was very well preserved in the early days as a boarding school and a grade school. Now that it’s a university it’s not as simple to do that. We’re doing it very well, but I think it’s an added challenge. You’re trying to hire the best professors, and some of those are obviously not going to be Catholic. And I think it’s good to have a varied student body from all over the world, but obviously not all of these students are going to be Catholic. I think it was a lot easier in Fr. Sorin’s time than it is now, but that’s obviously something that’s extremely central to Notre Dame’s mission: to keep the Catholic character and keep it in the forefront. That’s what we did in the past, and I think we have to continue doing it. It’s a greater challenge now, but it has to remain a central part of Notre Dame. The hard part is figuring out how to do this in a modern day culture.
What’s your favorite story in Notre Dame history?
There are all kinds of interesting things that happened at Notre Dame that people don’t know about. During the Civil War, seven Holy Cross priests served as chaplains. Religious clergy were exempt from the draft, but orders were not, so the Holy Cross brothers could be drafted. Fr. Sorin wrote to Lincoln and got an exemption for them, and Skylar Colfax, a US Representative from South Bend, was influential in helping secure the exemption. When it came time for Skylar Colfax to run for re-election, he asked Notre Dame to support him, since he had helped to gain the exemption. The ND council met and agreed to vote for him, but somehow or another the word must not have gotten out to everyone. A lot of the priests were Irish, so they voted Democrat. Skylar Colfax won, but when the voting figures came out, he noticed that a large portion of Notre Dame hadn’t voted for him (at this time there wasn’t a secret ballot). He was pretty angry, so he decided to get Holy Cross’ exemption repealed. Luckily, General Sherman’s wife happened to live in South Bend, and one of her children was attending Notre Dame and another St. Mary’s. Fr. Sorin wrote to Lincoln to get the exemption extended, but he also asked Mrs. Sherman if she would write a letter on behalf of the Holy Cross brothers. Mrs. Sherman’s letter arrived on Lincoln’s desk just after news arrived that General Sherman had reached Atlanta. General Sherman was in favor, and Lincoln renewed the exemption.
If you could give students one piece of wisdom regarding discerning God’s will in their lives, what would it be?
Seek a lot of advice from other people. Pray about it. And then follow your own inspiration. Whatever your passion is, do it. Don’t be afraid to take a risk. And if the first thing you try isn’t what you wind up doing, that’s perfectly all right. Learn as much as you can about different things, seek advice, and take whichever path seems the best for you.
