Monsignor John J. Burke, C.S.P. (1875-1936)

Born in New York City to immigrant parents, John Joseph Burke studied at the Jesuits’ St. Francis Xavier College (now Xavier High School) in Manhattan. In 1896, he joined the Paulists and was ordained in 1899. After working in parishes, he was appointed to the staff of The Catholic World in 1903 and soon rose to its editorship. An organizational genius, Burke was instrumental in the founding of several organizations: the Catholic Press Association (1911), the Chaplain’s Aid Association (1917), and the National Catholic Welfare Conference (1917). The last-named organization was the forerunner of the present-day Bishops’ Conference. The purpose of the NCWC was to organize Catholic activity at the national level and to lobby for the Church’s interests in Washington, D.C. For nearly twenty years, Father Burke oversaw the NCWC’s daily activities in his role as general secretary. During the 1920’s he worked to bring about peace in Mexico, which was experiencing a Church-State conflict. In 1936, he was named a Monsignor, the only Paulist to be so honored.