Commonweal, the oldest independent, lay-led, Catholic journal of opinion in the United States, is pleased to announce that Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, is the 2026 recipient of its biennial Centennial Award. The award, which was created in 2024 in recognition of the journal’s 100th anniversary, will be presented to Fr. Jenkins at the Commonweal Benefit Dinner on October 5 at Chelsea Piers in New York City.

Throughout his tenure at Notre Dame, the country’s preeminent Catholic university, Fr. Jenkins has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to higher education, civil discourse, and ethical considerations of the most pressing issues of the day. And, for more than two decades, he has worked to enhance Notre Dame’s influence within higher education, the Catholic Church, the United States, and the world at large.

“We are proud to honor Fr. Jenkins with our Centennial Award,” said Ellen B. Koneck, executive director of Commonweal. “Not only is he a valued friend of the magazine, he is a towering figure in American Catholicism today. His work and scholarship, so clearly animated by his vibrant faith, align with Commonweal’s century-old mission of promoting rigorous and reflective discussions about religion, politics, and the arts, centered on belief in the common good.”

Ordained a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1983, Fr. Jenkins earned his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in philosophy at Notre Dame. He earned his master of divinity degree and licentiate in sacred theology at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and his doctoral degree in philosophy at Oxford University. He joined the philosophy faculty at Notre Dame in 1990. 

Fr. Jenkins was named the seventeenth president of Notre Dame in 2005. Under his leadership, the university continued to pursue academic excellence with a renewed emphasis to its mission of educating the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—to do good in the world. He stepped down as president in 2024, after serving four terms. 

“In Fr. John Jenkins, CSC, the roles of distinguished philosopher and accomplished university president cannot be separated,” said John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost at the University of Notre Dame. “His confidence that the resources provided by the Catholic intellectual tradition allow us to understand and confront contemporary challenges inspired his colleagues during his nineteen years of extraordinary service as president of the University of Notre Dame. And that same confidence will inspire Commonweal readers and supporters, too, as the magazine moves into its second century.”

Since 2005, Commonweal has hosted a biennial gala, gathering friends, writers, and readers from around the country to honor individuals whose noteworthy work, informed and inspired by their Catholic faith, serves the common good. Over the years, Commonweal has honored luminaries like Tim Shriver, Mark Shields, Sr. Carol Keehan, Kerry Robinson, and Amy Goldman, as well as university presidents John Sexton, John DeGoia, and Tania Tetlow, who was the inaugural Centennial Award recipient.

For media inquiries, please contact Miles Doyle, special projects editor at Commonweal: [email protected], or Sarah Gotsch, Special Assistant to President Emeritus Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C. at the University of Notre Dame: [email protected].

Join us as we mark 102 years of Commonweal and celebrate the leadership of Fr. John Jenkins, CSC 


Monday, October 5, 2026, 6:30 p.m.
Pier 60, Chelsea Piers
Learn more and register: cwlmag.org/benefit2026