Higgins was a native of
Chicago,
Illinois, where he attended
Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the
University of St. Mary of the Lake, where he studied under the visionary rector
Reynold Henry Hillenbrand. In 1957
Jimmy Hoffa associate
Barney Baker approached Higgins in an attempt to get him to appear at Hoffa's trial for bribery as a performative gesture to the jury. Higgins recalls that Baker requested "that I come give 'James' some 'spiritual guidance' during a recess. When I told him Hoffa was welcome to come to my office, Barney insisted that he needed the spiritual guidance in the courtroom". Higgins taught at the
Catholic University of America, served as chairman of the public review board of the
United Auto Workers and chairman of the board of the
United Farmworkers' Martin Luther King Jr. Fund. He was the author of the syndicated column "The Yardstick" and was the author of numerous other writings on worker
justice in light of
Catholic social teaching. President
Bill Clinton presented Higgins with the
Medal of Freedom in August 2000 in recognition of his role as a vocal supporter of the
labor movement and an advocate for
social justice. Higgins was the 2000 recipient of the
Pacem in Terris Award. It was named after a 1963
encyclical letter by
Pope John XXIII that calls upon all people of good will to secure peace among all nations.
Pacem in terris is
Latin for 'Peace on Earth'. In 2001, he was awarded the
Laetare Medal by the
University of Notre Dame, the oldest and most prestigious award for
American Catholics. He died in
La Grange, Illinois, on May 1, 2002. == Legacy ==