Hehir has served as the Secretary of Health and Social Services for the
Archdiocese of Boston. He was also the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life at
Harvard University's
John F. Kennedy School of Government until his retirement in 2021. Hehir was formerly a faculty member at
Georgetown University and at the
Harvard Divinity School. Hehir was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1995. He became a member of the
American Philosophical Society in 2002. In 2004, he was awarded the
Laetare Medal by the
University of Notre Dame, the oldest and most prestigious award for
American Catholics. In 2024,
Pope Francis named Hehir as a
Chaplain of His Holiness with the title
monsignor, in honor of his service to the
Archdiocese of Boston. ==References==