1935: “The most distinguished graduate”

Cardinal William Henry O’Connell, archbishop of Boston and an 1881 graduate, was in the procession of dignitaries as 481 degrees were awarded on Wednesday, June 11. John J. Burns ’21, chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission—and for whom the Burns Library would be named in 1986—delivered the address. From the time O’Connell was appointed archbishop in 1907, until his death in 1944, he was an important advisor to the College, as well as a significant donor. What is known of the Cardinal’s view of his relationship to BC seems to have been reflected in a sentence published in his own newspaper, the Pilot, in its reporter’s June 15, 1935 commencement story: “The most distinguished graduate of the college, honored the occasion with his presence.”