In the course of its academic convocations the Institute has conferred the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa on the following individuals who have distinguished themselves through scholarship on the middle ages or have contributed to the work of the Pontifical Institute through their benefactions.

Doctor of Letters in Mediaeval Studies
† MARIE-THÉRÈSE D’ALVERNY (1979)
Archivist and palaeographer, cataloguer for the Latin manuscripts of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, prodigious interpreter of twelfth-century thought. For over forty years she welcomed and rendered practical assistance to Institute fellows and students in the Salle des manuscrits at the BnF.

FAUSTINO AVAGLIANO, OSB (1999)
Director of the Archives of the Abbey of Montecassino since 1982, he likewise oversees the abbey's publications. Don Faustino is also prior of Montecassino, and has written widely on the history of south Italian monasticism.

DOUGLAS BASSETT (1995)
Toronto investor and past director of Baton Broadcasting and President of the CTV Television network, he was responsible for the production of programmes of historical and religious significance, among them the series on the history of the Vatican and papacy narrated by Sir Peter Ustinov.

† LEONARD E. BOYLE, OP (1989)
Longtime professor of palaeography, diplomatics, and history at the Institute, Father Boyle was prefect of the Vatican Library from 1984 to 1997. He wrote widely in medieval history, especially on pastoral care and canon law. At his death in 1999 he was director of the Leonine Commission for the critical edition of the works of Thomas Aquinas. The Institute's campaign for the Leonard E. Boyle Chair in Manuscript Studies is named after him.

† GERALD EMMETT CARDINAL CARTER (1995)
After long advocacy of Catholic teachers and education in Canada, he became bishop of London and then archbishop of Toronto (1978–1990). He was named a Cardinal in 1979, and was Chancellor of the Institute from 1978 to 1994.

GILES CONSTABLE (1999)
As a prolific author on medieval monasticism and professor at Harvard University and then Director of the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, Professor Constable has been one of the most distinguished medieval scholars in North America.

HORST FUHRMANN (2002)
One of the most celebrated contemporary German medieval historians, he has been the President of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica and Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften. His works range over the patriachate in the medieval West and the Pseudo-Isidorian Forgeries to the writings of Umberto Eco and the history of the exclusive Orden Pour le mérite für Wisssenschaft und Künste, of which he is a member.

HANNA HOLBOURN GRAY (2005)
A historian of the Renaissance, and a leading advocate of the liberal arts in the core curriculum of university education, she is the former President of the University of Chicago and former Board member of the Harvard University Corporation. She retired recently as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New York.

R. GERALD GUEST (1993)
During forty years, this Toronto physician visited over 1000 monastic sites in the British Isles, collected 3500 antiquarian and modern books and 600 pamphlets about them, and has taken 12,000 colour slides in situ. They form the “Guest Collection” that he has donated to the Institute Library.

† H. CLIFFORD HATCH (2005)
A long-time member of the boards of trustees of Assumption University and the University of Windsor, he was for twenty years the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hiram Walker, Ltd. A nephew of Father Henry Carr, co-founder of the Pontifical Institute, he has sponsored scholarships at the Institute and is a continuing benefactor of its Library.

ÉDOUARD JEAUNEAU (2002)
Canon of Chartres, renowned scholar of neoplatonism, Édouard Jeauneau divides his scholarly life between Paris and Toronto, where with an équipe of students from the Institute and the Centre for Medieval Studies he is now bringing to completion his magisterial edition of the Periphyseon of Johannes Scottus Eriugena.

† MIECYZSLAW ALBERT KRAPIEC, OP (1989)
The doyen of the Lublin School of Philosophy for over two decades, his many books on the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, especially his metaphysics, have been translated into several languages.

† GERHART B. LADNER (1979)
A refugee from Vienna in 1937, he taught first in North America at the Institute and ended his long career at University of California Los Angeles. A member of Zentraldirektion of the Monumenta Germanniae Historica, his books ranged from studies of papal iconography to his pioneering work, The Idea of Reform (1959).

† Dom JEAN LeCLERQ, OSB (1989)
His numerous editions of texts, monographs and articles on monasticism and monastic spiritual authors, placed him in the Maurist tradition of Mabillon, d’Achéry, Martène, and his contemporary David Knowles.

† ARMAND MAURER, CSB (1999)
Intellectual heir to Etienne Gilson, his books and articles on Aquinas, Ockham, and Siger of Brabant, his editions of texts, translations, and textbook on medieval philosophy have extended the philosophical tradition and influence of the Institute to many thousands of students.

JOSEPH McNEIL (1999)
Before and during his twenty-six year term as archbishop of Edmonton (1973–99) he has been an advocate of education at every level, especially adult extended learning, and a tireless promotor of Catholic social action and of inter-Church committees in Canada.

PAUL MEYVAERT (1993)
One of the leading scholars and authors on topics in monastic history and the early medieval papacy, Dr. Meyvaert was for ten years Executive Director of the Medieval Academy of America and editor of its journal Speculum.

† J. REGINALD O’DONNELL, CSB (1979)
Professor of Latin and palaeography at the Institute from 1935, he was perhaps most responsible for the rigorous training and standards in editing texts that has become the hallmark of Institute scholarship.

J. JOSEPH POPE (1993)
An investment banker, he served as a director and treasurer of the Institute’s Mediaeval Studies Foundation for over twenty years. He is founder and curator of the Bergendal Collection which consists of 150 manuscripts, mostly liturgical, dating from the ninth to the fifteenth century.

† J. AMBROSE RAFTIS, CSB (2002)
As both scholar and teacher, he has exercised an abiding influence on the shape of economic and social history of the medieval English countryside through studies spanning some four decades, from The Estates of Ramsey (1957) to Peasant Economic Development within the English Manorial System (1997).

A. GEORGE RIGG (2005)
A Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, author A History of Anglo-Latin Literature, 1066–1422 and of ground-breaking studies and texts in medieval Latin language and literature, he has for more than three decades upheld the highest standards for Latin proficiency at the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto.

† ELEANOR SEARLE (1993)
The first woman to earn the Institute Licence and Doctorate in Mediaeval Studies, she wrote influential books and articles on the economics of monastic communities. She taught for thirty years at U.C.L.A., and served as President of the Medieval Academy of America.

† Sir PETER USTINOV (1995)
Known to the public primarily as an actor, Sir Peter is also an author whose works include a noteworthy television series on the history of the papacy and of the Vatican, which he also narrated. He is chancellor of the University of Durham.

† JOSEPH C. WEY, CSB (1989)
A palaeographer, teacher of Latin, and Secretary of the Institute, he was Superior General of the Basilian Fathers during the difficult years 1961–1973. An editor of Ockham and Chatton, he also vetted manuscripts of dozens of authors in the Institute journal and in its book series Studies and Texts.

Msgr JOHN WIPPEL (2005)
An eminent historian of philosophy, emeritus vice-president for academic affairs, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, he is the author of numerous articles and books, including The Metaphysical Thought of Thomas Aquinas and The Metaphysical Thought of Godfrey of Fontaines.