 |
Rose
Fitzgerald Kennedy, having tea with members of the
convent and campus community. |
Members of
the prestigious and powerful Kennedy Family has visited Mount
Mercy multiple times in the College’s nearly 80-year history.
The Kennedy Family’s affinity for Mount Mercy arose from
the family’s strong Catholic background and connection to
the Sisters of Mercy, the founders of Mount Mercy.
Matriarch Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was the first
in her family to visit Mount Mercy in 1957. In photos from the
Busse Library Archives, Rose is pictured having tea with members
of the convent and campus community.
 |
| John
F. Kennedy with Sisters of Mercy on the steps of
McAuley Hall. |
Two of Rose
and Joseph Kennedy’s sons visited Mount Mercy during their
political careers. John F. Kennedy visited Mount
Mercy in 1958 and 1960, prior to his election as the 35th President
of the United States. During his visits he met with Sisters of
Mercy and is pictured with them on the steps of McAuley Hall.
John’s
younger brother, Robert F. Kennedy, visited in
1967, one year prior to his assassination in 1968. Joan
Bennett Kennedy, the first wife of Rose and Joseph’s
son, Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy, visited Mount Mercy
twice.
 |
| Joan
Bennett Kennedy talking to Mount Mercy students. |
Most
recently, Kathleen
Kennedy Townsend, daughter of the late Robert
F. Kennedy, visited campus in the fall of 2007. Kennedy Townsend
now returns to give the Commencement Address on May 17, 2008 to
Mount Mercy’s graduating class.
