With three current members of the House of Representatives and one U.S. Senator among its graduates, the College of the Holy Cross has one of the highest ratios of Congress members to student enrollment, according to Roll Call, the newspaper of Capitol Hill.
In a recent article, the alumni—Rep. Timothy H. Bishop ’72 (D- New York), Sen. Robert Casey ’82 (D – Pennsylvania), Rep. James P. Moran Jr. ’67 (D – Virginia) and Rep. Peter Welch ’69 (D – Vermont)—talked about how their experiences at Holy Cross helped prepare them for careers in public service.
“It was very much a part of the education at Holy Cross that you thought beyond yourself,” Welch told Roll Call. “When people organize and challenge injustice, they can have an impact,” he continued. “I saw how changing laws would provide fairness and opportunity.”
Bishop shared a similar sentiment. “There’s a real ethos of commitment to others and public service that runs through a Jesuit education,” he said. “The whole world was changing from 1968 to 1972. It was impossible to not be politically aware.”
Holy Cross President Rev. Michael McFarland, S.J., also attributed the large number of Holy Cross alumni in Congress to the College’s Jesuit background.
“That’s part of the Catholic consciousness, to appreciate larger community structures,” he said. “It had at least some sense that community structures were good things and that you could work change through them.”
“It was very much a part of the education at Holy Cross that you thought beyond yourself,” Welch told Roll Call. “When people organize and challenge injustice, they can have an impact,” he continued. “I saw how changing laws would provide fairness and opportunity.”
Bishop shared a similar sentiment. “There’s a real ethos of commitment to others and public service that runs through a Jesuit education,” he said. “The whole world was changing from 1968 to 1972. It was impossible to not be politically aware.”
Holy Cross President Rev. Michael McFarland, S.J., also attributed the large number of Holy Cross alumni in Congress to the College’s Jesuit background.
“That’s part of the Catholic consciousness, to appreciate larger community structures,” he said. “It had at least some sense that community structures were good things and that you could work change through them.”
