The first time I met Judge/Senator James Buckley, was after (Latin) Mass at Old St. Mary’s in Washington, D.C. I was a college sophomore who had stirred up some trouble on my campus, and I was enjoying a Sunday respite. I remember being warmly welcomed by my former home-state senator, from a family I felt like I knew — being a young conservative/NR-reading/Firing Line-watching geek from early on.

When I once asked him why he preferred the Tridentine Mass, he said: “Because everyone is equal at the altar rail.” Moments before, he had been speaking to a homeless man who was a regular for Mass and donuts after.

For all his achievements, Buckley’s graciousness might be his greatest.