The Catholic University of America (CUA) announced this week that Monsignor James Shea, a distinguished speaker and president of the North Dakota-based University of Mary, is the commencement speaker for the 2026 graduating class.
Msgr. Shea is an alumnus of CUA and will be conferred with an honorary doctorate during the May 16 commencement at the Washington, D.C., campus, according to a March 3 CUA news release.
Msgr. Shea said the invitation to be the commencement speaker and receive the honorary degree from his alma mater is both humbling and an honor.
“My education at Catholic University changed my life in many ways. It was there that my love for the Catholic intellectual life was born and nourished, and there that I caught a glimpse of what a great Catholic university could be,” he said in the release. “And so this will be a joyful homecoming for me, and I return brimming with gratitude.”
CUA President Peter Kilpatrick praised Msgr. Shea in the release for his dedication to helping young people cultivate their faith, through his roles as a university president, teacher, and evangelizer. He also described Msgr. Shea as “a riveting speaker.”
“His ability to engage the larger culture with clarity, Christian hope, and great wit is a much-needed antidote to so many of the challenges we face today,” Kilpatrick said, “and an example I pray our students will take with them into their future vocations.”
According to the release, Msgr. Shea, a priest from the diocese of Bismark, North Dakota, has been president of the University of Mary since 2009. He stepped into the role at age 34, making him the youngest college or university president in the country, the release noted. He has given talks at the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress, the 2025 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, and SEEK, a large-scale conference for Catholic college students.
Msgr. Shea said in the release that he is looking forward to meeting fellow graduates at the 2026 commencement ceremony.
“In the meantime,” he said, “I assure them, President Kilpatrick, and all the faculty and staff at Catholic University of my prayers.”