ADDRESS, ON THE OCCASION OF THE AWARD
OF AN HONORARY DEGREE
BY CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

PETROPOLIS, STATE OF RIO, BRAZIL

November 18, 1965

President Sa Earp words cannot adequately express my feeling on
receiving the honor which you have bestowed upon me today. I thank
you from the bottom of my heart, not only for myself but for the
people of Maryland whom I represent. For I know that in bestowing
this honorary degree upon me, you are also expressing your faith in
the partnership and brotherhood which exists between the people of
the State of Rio and the people of the State of Maryland.

I count it among the supreme moments of my life to be here today
with you in this splendid institution of learning and in this beautiful
and breathtaking city of Petropolis. My visit to this wonderful country
of Brazil has been a succession of one momentous experience after
another, and this ceremony today is indeed a fitting climax to an
unbelievably rewarding and stimulating journey. At the very outset
I feel that I must tell you—though I am sure that you have heard it
many times before—how fortunate you are to live in such a beautiful
place as Petropolis. No wonder it was chosen by the Emperor as the
setting for his most handsome palace. As I approached here on the
scenic highway, the mountains pointing skyward seemed to be beckon-
ing me and all other visitors to this exquisite spot. Even before
coming here to Petropolis, I had heard of your beautiful and generous
city from my fellow Marylanders who visited here a year ago. I remem-
ber very well the reports they brought back with them of the hospitality
and warmth extended to them by the Lions Club here and other
groups. As for the beauty of the city with its imperial museum and
imposing cathedral; I thought perhaps—frankly—that my Maryland
friends might be exaggerating—I can now see for myself that they were
not.

I have read that the site upon which Petropolis now stands was first
explored in the year 1531. That was a century before the first settlers
arrived on the soil of Maryland in 1634. Yet there is an interesting
parallel between this honor which the Catholic University of Petro-
polis pays me today and the early history of my State of Maryland.
Curiously enough, Maryland was the only British colony in the New
World founded by a Catholic family, the Calverts by name; one of