Theodore Hesburgh Library is the primary building of the library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

 system of University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

. The building opened on September 18, 1963, as the Memorial Library. It was named after Father Theodore Hesburgh

Theodore Hesburgh

The Rev. Theodore Martin Hesburgh, CSC, STD , a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, is President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame. He is the namesake for TIAA-CREF's Hesburgh Award....

 in 1987. The library has 3.39 million volumes, the 61st largest collection among all U.S. research universities.

Touchdown Jesus

The side of the library facing the football stadium

Notre Dame Stadium

Notre Dame Stadium is the home football stadium for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. The stadium is located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States, just north of the city of South Bend....

 has a large mural of the resurrected Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 entitled "The Word of Life". It was designed by Millard Sheets

Millard Sheets

Millard Owen Sheets was an American painter and a representative of the California School of Painting, later a teacher and educational director, and architect of more than 50 branch banks in Southern California.-Early life:...

. The image of Jesus is visible from the stadium and has his arms raised in the same fashion as a referee signifying a touchdown. From this similarity came the nickname "Touchdown Jesus". The stadium expansion had the side effect of partially obscuring the view of Touchdown Jesus from the field.

External links

• www.library.nd.edu