The Notre Dame Book of Prayer is a treasured collection of prayers and reflections created for alumni, parents, and friends of the University of Notre Dame. First published in 2010 and now expanded with dozens of new prayers, it captures the university’s vibrant Catholic spiritual life.
Arranged around twelve stunning full-color photographs of beloved campus landmarks—including the Grotto, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, St. Joseph and St. Mary’s Lakes, Touchdown Jesus, and Notre Dame Stadium—the book beautifully pairs visual devotion with heartfelt prayer. The photographs were taken by Matt Cashore, Notre Dame’s award-winning senior photographer.
This collection contains hundreds of traditional and contemporary prayers written by faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the Congregation of Holy Cross. It includes prayers for every season and circumstance of life, such as:
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Morning and evening
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Meal times
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Engagements
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The birth of a child
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Anxiety and depression
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Birthdays
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Graduations
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Liturgical seasons
You’ll also find reflections on how to pray and inspiring testimonies on the power of prayer. Contributors include President Emeritus Fr. Edward “Monk” Malloy, CSC; former head football coach Lou Holtz; writer Brian Doyle; Fr. Ted Hesburgh, CSC; and Lisa M. Hendey, founder of CatholicMom.com.
About the Author
Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC (1917–2015), was a theologian, public servant, and the fifteenth president of the University of Notre Dame, serving from 1952 to 1987. Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in higher education and the Catholic Church in the twentieth century, he considered his priestly vocation his greatest joy.
Ordained in 1943 as a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Fr. Hesburgh celebrated Mass almost daily for over seventy years. As Notre Dame’s president, he oversaw the admission of women in 1972, expanded diversity, and dramatically increased the university’s enrollment, research, and endowment.
He received more than 150 honorary degrees—a Guinness World Record—and sixteen presidential appointments. His service included roles with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the National Science Board, and the Civil Rights Commission. Hesburgh famously joined Martin Luther King Jr. at a 1964 civil rights rally in Chicago, an event memorialized in an iconic statue on campus.
Among his many honors, he received both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
