Pope Francis has declared Catholic philosopher, author, and teacher
Alice von Hildebrand a Dame Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of St.
Gregory in recognition of her work.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic
Signatura, formally
invested her in the chivalric order Oct. 30 at a gala dinner in New York
celebrating her 90th birthday.
Cardinal Burke said that Pope Francis conferred the honor to recognize
her “outstanding and faithful service” and “in public recognition of the
esteem in which she is held in the Church.”
Membership in the Equestrian Order of St. Gregory, which dates back to
1831, is the highest honor a Pope can bestow upon a layman. Membership
is given to individuals who have served the Church and society, and
witnessed to their Catholic faith in an exemplary way.
The gala was hosted by the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project, an
academic organization based at Franciscan University of Steubenville
dedicated to the work of Alice von Hildebrand’s late husband.
Von Hildebrand addressed the dinner guests, reflecting on the importance
of gratitude, love, and friendship, calling them the “remains of the
earthly paradise.”
She said she came to value philosophy through her husband. “His approach
showed that philosophy is not an abstract discipline. It is life.”
“It involves my heart, my intelligence and my will, and therefore opens a
vista of greatness and beauty that most of us are not aware of.”
“He showed me that what we call Christian philosophy is not an abstraction, it is simply reason baptized by faith.”
The Belgian-born von Hildebrand has been a regular commentator on EWTN,
and is a retired professor of philosophy at Hunter College in New York
City, where she taught for 37 years. Her books include “The Soul of a
Lion,” “The Privilege of Being a Woman,” “Dark Night of the Body,” and
“By Love Refined.”
Cardinal Burke said the von Hildebrands worked together “in the study of
truth taught to us both by faith and reason, and in the life of truth
through love of God.”
“In thanking God for the gift of Alice von Hildebrand to us and to so
many whose lives she has transformed by her teaching and her writing,
let us join with her in preserving the memory of her beloved husband and
in making his important writings more available and better known.”