In the context of this artwork, explore the Unveiling Ceremony of the Historical information.
Before the time of the unveiling of the monument, a Mass was celebrated on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame. The sermon was preached by Rev. John J. Keane, D.D., Archbishop of Dubuque, and the Mass was celebrated by Rev. Bishop Alerding of Fort Wayne. Scores of visiting clergy attended including Rev. Monsignor Oechtering. More than 100 ministers wore red and purple, and about 50 male singers were present. A quartette of seminarians sang at the offertory, and the church was filled with candles and incense. With attendees from the student body and friends of the university, the church was filled to capacity. 
After Mass a procession from the Basilica to the grounds where the statue was to be unveiled occurred. The students marched according to their respective halls. They were followed by the dignified array of graduates and faculty in cap and gown, then the acolytes and ministers, and lastly the members of the community and the visitors. A platform was erected beside the monument, and around this stood the audience of about 3,000. The University Band provided music appropriate for the occasion.
Before the statue was revealed, it was shrouded in the American flag and the papal ensign. Then-president of Notre Dame Father John J. Cavanaugh offered a reflection, and then a cord was pulled to reveal the statue. The crowd reacted to the statue by calling it “perfect” and “matchless.” The student body erupted in a cheer of “U.N.D.”
Father John J. Cavanaugh Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame John J. Cavanaugh University of Notre Dame University Band