Originally published at The Catholic Thing
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was established under President John F. Kennedy, but he was assassinated before he had the opportunity to bestow the medals upon the 31 members of the inaugural cohort. Since then, various Catholic luminaries have received the award, including Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, Mother Teresa, William F. Buckley Jr., Lech Wałęsa, Cesar Chavez, Sargent and Eunice Shriver, and Pope John Paul II.
