The Cudahys: Establishing a “Storehouse of Spiritual Value”

“Loyalty to Faith, Esteem for the Sons of Ignatius, Zeal for Catholic Education”

The Elizabeth M. Cudahy Library, dedicated in June 1930, was built by Edward Aloysius Cudahy Sr. as a tribute to his wife, Elizabeth (née Murphy). Although born in Milwaukee, Edward—like his older brother Michael, donor of Cudahy Science Hall two decades earlier—was a first-generation son of the Irish Catholic immigrants Patrick and Elizabeth “Eliza” (née Shaw). The library’s bronze tribute tablet quotes from Edward’s statement of purpose for donating and endowing this “storehouse of spiritual value.” “This library is reared . . . as a sign of my loyalty to my faith, my esteem for the Sons of Ignatius”—i.e., the Jesuits—and “my zeal for Catholic education.”