Kathleen Sprows Cummings
American Studies
Professor of American Studies
William W. and Anna Jean Cushwa Director, Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism
- History of women and American religion
- U.S. Catholicism
Video
Sprows Cummings’s Latest News
Sprows Cummings in the News
Newsweek
Pope Benedict's Troubled Legacy
December 31, 2022
Speaking to Newsweek Professor Kathleen Cummings, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, described Benedict as "a man of unwavering faith, deep conviction and towering intellect who indelibly shaped the church."
America
‘A renowned theologian, a holy man’: President Biden, Cardinal Dolan, other U.S. Catholics respond to Pope Benedict XVI’s death
December 31, 2022
Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame, said in a statement that Benedict leaves “a complicated legacy.”
Associated Press
In US, sharply contrasting views on Benedict XVI’s legacy
December 31, 2022
Professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the University of Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, depicted Benedict as “a man of unwavering faith, deep conviction and towering intellect,” yet added that he left “a complicated legacy.”
The New York Times
The Miraculous Life and Afterlife of Charlene Richard
December 20, 2022
“Sainthood links the local church to the universal church,” says Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, who wrote “A Saint of Our Own,” about the more than century-old campaign for a patron saint of the United States (leading contenders include St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Kateri Tekakwitha, though each was born before the country’s founding).
Kelly Corrigan Wonders
College Visit with Notre Dame's Kathy Cummings and Sam Newlands
Audio
October 05, 2022
In addition to talking to the kids, Kelly sat down with two professors who love their work, Kathy Cummings (winner of the 2021 Sheedy Award for Excellence in Teaching) who teaches history and Sam Newlands, a philosopher who studies hope, optimism and transformative experiences.
National Catholic Reporter
Pope's recent appointment of women is too little, too late
July 29, 2022
Kathleen Sprows Cummings, professor of American Studies and the director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame, called the pope's move "far too little" and "far too late."
Angelus News
Legacy lives on of cardinal who helped name the pope
July 12, 2022
“How much longer should Catholic women be expected to be grateful at being offered crumbs from the table?” asked Kathleen Cummings, professor of American studies at the University of Notre Dame, in a July 6 statement.
Religion News Service
Pope Francis wants two women on the committee that proposes bishops
July 07, 2022
Others think the pope’s appointment of women at the Vatican is too little, too late. “Will these new appointees have any actual power?” wondered Kathleen Cummings, professor of American studies at the University of Notre Dame, in a statement on Wednesday (July 6.)
CNN
These women may become the first African-American Catholic saints
Video
March 16, 2022
Features interview with Kathleen Sprows Cummings, Professor of American Studies and History and Director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism.
The Revealer
Religious Sisters Respond
March 07, 2022
“There were overflowing novitiates, overflowing seminaries after the War, and people talk about, ‘let’s go back to normal, to the 40s.’ But actually, that wasn’t normal at all,” said Kathleen Sprows Cummings, a professor of American religious history at the University of Notre Dame.
NPR
Catholic bishops endorse communion guidelines for public figures
November 18, 2021
NPR's A Martinez talks to Kathleen Sprows Cummings of Notre Dame, about U.S. Catholic Bishops approving a position paper urging Catholics to abide by church teachings if they take communion.
The New York Times
The president’s meeting with Pope Francis was a diplomatic visit tinged with the personal.
October 29, 2021
“They’re the regular guys,” said Kathleen Sprows Cummings, the director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame.
NPR
Nun of Us Are Friends
Audio
September 23, 2021
Kathleen Sprows Cummings is a Professor of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
Associated Press
Admirers still urging sainthood for chaplain killed on 9/11
September 04, 2021
A forceful appeal for canonization came last year in an essay by professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the University of Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for American Catholicism.
The Washington Post
Amid dispute over Biden’s support of abortion rights, Catholic bishops to vote on controversial Communion document
June 18, 2021
Kathleen Cummings, a historian at the University of Notre Dame who runs the school’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, said the U.S. Catholic Church for many decades was defined more by questions of how and whether Catholicism — then mostly a faith of immigrants — could fit into America.
America
Biden and abortion could change the bishops’ culture of consensus at next week’s USCCB meeting
June 10, 2021
Kathleen Sprows Cummings, the director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame, said she is unsure what drafting such a document would accomplish beyond “pushing people farther away from the church.”
This is her place
Soul Sisters: Mother Augusta and The Reverend Elizabeth McVicker
Audio
June 02, 2021
Kathleen Sprows Cummings is a professor of American Studies and History at Notre Dame University, the Director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at Notre Dame, and is an expert on the history of women religious.
National Catholic Reporter
'Mare of Easttown' captures cultural Catholicism's lasting power
May 29, 2021
But people are interested in the show — it has been regularly breaking the million-viewers mark on Sunday nights — and Kathleen Sprows Cummings, who is the director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame, said she soon realized the incredible buzz around the show is "because it nails place so well."
National Geographic
In Venezuela, a quest for sainthood offers proof of miracles
May 03, 2021
The definition of what is holy changes over time, says Kathleen Sprows Cummings, history professor at the University of Notre Dame and author of the book A Saint of Our Own. “We reinvent saints in each age.”
CNBC
President Biden is the nation’s 2nd Catholic president.
Video
April 03, 2021
Kathleen Sprows Cummings talks to The News with Shepard Smith.
National Catholic Reporter
Will Biden be invited to Notre Dame's commencement?
March 03, 2021
Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, who was teaching a class at that time on "Catholics in America," told NCR the campus debates were professionally and pedagogically very rewarding, as they led to lively conversation with her students.
ABC News
As Biden prays for healing, Catholics clash over president’s faith
Video
February 01, 2021
"Pope Francis has talked about the need to find a better kind of politics, a less polarizing kind of politics. And I think in that sense, he's expressing his hope that Joe Biden could be the one to open that conversation," said Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the Cushwa Center for Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame.
WSBT
President Biden's Catholicism could encourage expanded conversations on polarizing issues
Video
January 24, 2021
While President Biden and John F. Kennedy share the same faith, Notre Dame history professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings says the way they show it is drastically different.
Today Show
How might Joe Biden’s Catholic faith guide his presidency?
Video
January 24, 2021
Interview with Kathleen Sprows Cummings, American studies.
National Catholic Reporter
Joe Biden's very Catholic Cabinet
January 19, 2021
Historian Kathleen Sprows Cummings told NCR that while there were a few Catholic Cabinet members during the 19th century, they were outliers and "their Catholicism didn't matter to their public life in any discernible way."
The Washington Post
JFK was greeted with rock-star support from Catholics. Biden faces a much more divided tribe.
December 09, 2020
“It’s potentially a game-changer in American politics,” said Kathleen Sprows Cummings, head of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame.
The Progressive
Four Women Martyred in Service to the Poor
December 03, 2020
“Canonization changes nothing about the person being honored,” notes University of Notre Dame Professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism.