On February 7 and March 4, 2025, the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government hosted a pair of events for its cohort of Tocqueville Fellows geared towards providing them insight into the local government and church surrounding Notre Dame.
The CCCG kicked this off with a private dinner for the Tocqueville Fellows and the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Kevin Rhoades. Bishop Rhoades has served as the ninth bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend since January 13, 2010, when he was installed by Pope Benedict XVI. Nationally, Bishop Rhoades serves as Chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s (USCCB) Committee on Religious Liberty. Additionally, he works as a member of the USCCB’s Administrative Committee, Committee on Doctrine, Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, and the USCCB Subcommittee of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Over the course of the dinner, the Fellows had the chance to engage with Bishop Rhoades on a variety of topics and contemporary issues surrounding his diocese and the Church as a whole.
As is customary for the Center’s private dinners for Toqueville Fellows, the specifics of the evening’s conversation were off the record. Throughout the night, though, Bishop Rhoades answered questions from the Fellows surrounding various issues, notably including immigration and the right to life.
Tocqueville Fellow Lucy Spence reflected that dinner with Bishop Rhoades was “lovely” and that “the evening of conversation and food was a wonderful witness to the body that is the Church.
“The bishop is an extraordinarily thoughtful man,” Lucy continued. “His answers were nuanced and never divided solely on political lines, which was refreshing to see. I particularly appreciated his defense of the sanctity of human life in all its stages: the unborn, the elderly and infirm, and the refugee. His example of servant leadership and his evident love for the Church in all his efforts gave a beautiful witness to all, Catholic and non-Catholic alike.”
Tocqueville Fellow Will Carlson echoed this sentiment, recalling “even though I am not Catholic the dinner was fantastic—a unique opportunity to learn from a bishop about the Catholic Church.”
Following the dinner with Bishop Rhoades, the CCCG hosted a breakfast for the Tocqueville Fellows and South Bend Mayor James Mueller. Mueller has served as the city’s 33rd mayor since he was sworn into office on January 1, 2020. A South Bend native, Mueller attended St. Joseph High School and the University of Notre Dame before earning his PhD at the University of Delaware. He worked in public policy before returning to South Bend to serve as Mayor Pete Buttigieg's chief of staff, eventually running for mayor.
Mayor Mueller discussed his career with the Fellows and went over his experiences as the mayor of South Bend. Fellows had the chance to engage with the mayor on the issues facing South Bend and other similar sized cities.
Regarding the breakfast, Tocqueville Fellow Christian Yerelekian stated that “meeting with Mayor Mueller was a great opportunity to observe how local leadership handles issues and drives development compared to how national leaders write policy.” Yerelekian also reflected that “it was interesting to learn how the mayor handles local issues given his prior experience on the national level.”
Both Bishop Rhoades and Mayor Mueller emphasized the importance of Notre Dame to the broader community and urged the Fellows to engage with and be involved in their adopted community. Tocqueville Fellow Alejandra Ricardo recalled how she “was inspired by the fact that both leaders, despite representing different realms of life, were so focused on youth.” Broadly, the Fellows agreed that, after engaging with Bishop Rhoades and Mayor Mueller, they will give more attention to being present both on and off Notre Dame’s campus.
To learn more about our Tocqueville Fellowship Program, visit our website.