The Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award was created by the Davenport Catholic Interracial Council in 1964 in commemoration of the 1963 encyclical "Pacem in terris" by Pope John. Bishop Hayes attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council. He was the oldest bishop from the United States at the council. The "Catholic Messenger" published the decrees of the council in their entirety in the paper. Liturgical renewal was already underway in the diocese under the direction of the Rev. Cletus Madsen. In the 1950s he had been working on reforming liturgical music in the diocese by advocating the replacement of the more sentimental devotional music with liturgical music and participation by the laity. He also advocated teaching children Gregorian Chant so as to lead the congregation in singing. Work had also begun, under Bishop Hayes’ direction, to establish a Priests’ Senate. On his 82nd birthday, September 21, 1966, Bishop Hayes submitted his resignation to the Holy See in compliance with the Vatican II decree Christus Dominus. His resignation was the first such resignation accepted by Pope Paul VI. On October 20, 1966, he was named Titular Bishop of "Naraggara" and Bishop Emeritus of Davenport. He retired to the Kahl Home. He died there in 1970 at the age of 85. Following his funeral in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bishop Hayes was laid to rest in the Bishop's Circle of Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Hayes Hall, the former seminary building and now an academic building at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, and Bishop Hayes School in Muscatine, Iowa are named in his honor.