St. George, Illinois Photographs

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The Rev. John Burke

Pastor of

St. George Church

1961 - 1983

[see the article

on the right and below]

From the Kankakee Journal, June, 1968

The Rev. John Burke, CVS, pastor of St, George Catholic Church, RR 1, Bourbonnais, will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his ordination in the Roman Catholic priesthood on June 23.

He will be the celebrant of a mass at 1 pm at the church and attend a reception in his honor at the parish hall from 2 to 6 pm. Father Burke was born in South Boston, Massachusetts on July 13, 1908, the son of a captain of the Boston Police Dept. He attended elementary and high school in South Boston and entered the clerics of St. Viator at Chicago in 1934.

He graduated from St. Viator's College, Bourbonnais in 1938 an was assigned to St. Joseph's Academy in Lagrange as prefect of discipline. He remained there one year before entering St. Thomas Seminary, Denver, Colorado, where he studied for four years.

Father Burke was ordained June 12, 1943 at Weston College, Weston, Massachusetts and celebrated his first solemn mass at Gate of Heaven Church, South Boston on June 13, 1943.

He spent the next year at St. Thomas Vocational School in Savannah, Georgia as perfect of discipline and was assigned than as assistant pastor at St. Viator Church in Chicago, and held that position until 1952, when he first came to the Kankakee area as assistant pastor of St. Patrick's  Church. In addition to his parish duties, he was made chaplain at Kankakee State Boys Camp.

In 1960, Father Burke was made a director of Viatorian Seminary aid, Arlington Heights and traveled throughout the country in that capacity until July 1, 1961, when he was made pastor of St. George Church. He has also continued at the boys camp since his original appointment.

As prefect of discipline and chaplain at the boys camp, he has supervised children and counseled them in the Christian attitudes of life.

Father Burke is a member of St. Viator Council, the Knights of Columbus, Kankakee, and the Chaplain's Correction Institute. He likes to read and watch TV. He also enjoys traveling. He has a sister, Mrs. Mary Flagg, who lives in Santa Maria, California and two brothers, James and Alphonsus, who live in South Boston.

Father Burke prefers parish work to the other work he has done because "that's what I was ordained for." But he likes the rural parish better than the parish in a large city because "you can get closer to your people in a rural area than in the city." He said he also has found people more responsive in the rural area.

"I think the Kankakee area is a wonderful place," he noted and added, "I would not care to leave it. It's the best section I've worked in." Although his age now is 60 and he has been a priest 25 years, he has no plans for retirement. "I don't expect to retire at all from active duty. I sincerely mean that," he said.

From the Kankakee Journal July 14, 1983 - "There's no quiet exit for St. George priest"

Rev John Burke of St. George Church is supposed to retire this year at age 75, but he doesn't want to.

"I'm not ready," he said. "I get tired, but who doesn't?" But, because of a rule in the Juliet Diocese of mandatory retirement at 75, he must retire. And because he doesn't particularly enjoy the spotlight, he wants to leave without a fuss.

"I came here incognito and that's the way I want to go," he said. Burke doesn't even want parishioners to throw the reception they have planned on Sunday immediately after Bishop Joseph Imesch says the noon mass.

"I wish to heck they'd get off it," he says. He knows , however, that such ceremonies are people's way of showing their appreciation for years of service, so he'll go along with the program.

This is Father John Burke's 40th year as a Catholic priest, 21 of those years at St. George parish. In that time, he accomplished almost everything he wanted to, including the complete interior and exterior of the church and buildings.  The Reverend will not retire from active duty. He will continue to administer the sacraments, but he won't perform administrative duties such as keeping books and records.

"I don't want to, but I have to. What the heck you going to do? You can't fight City Hall." he says. He will, however, stay busy doing what he loves best: helping young boys in trouble. For 12 years, Burke was chaplain at the Kankakee Boys Camp, now called Illinois Youth Center, just west of Warner Bridge Road on Illinois 102.

There is a continual supply of boys who need help, and as long as he's around, there is an open door for the kids.

"Always was and always will be," he said. "They come and they go... you never know what time of day or what hour in the morning they're going to come." he added.

Burke quickly squelches the notion that all of that dedication must have been hard work.

"Not at all," he said " I have enjoyed every moment of it, every day of it and every year of it." There's no secret to relating to the youngsters in trouble, he says. "It all depends on how you approach them. You cannot yell at them or force your opinion on them.," he said. "They're all right. There's nothing wrong with them."

A Boston-born Irish Catholic, Burke was ordained in June 1943 at Weston College, Weston, Massachusetts. After brief assignments in Georgia and Chicago, he came to Kankakee in 1952 as assistant pastor at St. Patrick's Church. He was made Chaplain at Kankakee State Boys Camp in 1954.

He is a member of St. Viator's Council of the Knights of Columbus and the Chaplain's Correction Institute. Soon after retirement, he will visit with his sister, Mrs. Mary Flagg, in Santa Maria, California.

Father Burke's Obituary - from the Kankakee Journal September 8, 1986

The Rev. John J. Burke, 78, retired pastor of St. George Catholic Church, St. George, died Thursday in Arlington Heights. A member of the Clerics of St. Viator, Father Burke had been a resident of the provincial home in Arlington Heights.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 am Wednesday at St. Viator Catholic Church.

Father Burke was born on July 13, 1908 in South Boston, Massachusetts, the son of a police captain of the Boston Police Department. He attended elementary and high school in South Boston and entered the Clerics of St. Viator at Chicago in August of 1934. He graduated from St. Viator's College in Bourbonnais in 1938 and was assigned to St. Joseph's Academy at La Grange as a prefect of discipline. He remained there for one year before entering St. Thomas Seminary, Denver, Colorado, where he studied for 4 years.

Father burke was ordained on June 12, 1943 at Weston College, Weston, Massachusetts and celebrated his first mass at Gate of Heaven Church, South Boston on June 13, 1943. For the next year, he was assigned to St. Thomas Vocational School in Savannah, Georgia and then named assistant pastor at St. Viator Church in Chicago. In 1952, Father Burke became the assistant pastor of St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Kankakee, in 1952 and was added the duties of chaplain at the Kankakee Youth Camp in 1954.

Father Burke was the pastor of St. George Catholic Church from 1961 until his retirement in 1983. He had been a member of St. Viator's Council of the Knights of Columbus and the Chaplain's Correction Institute.

Survivors include a brother, James of Boston. A sister and a brother are deceased. Burial will be in the Burke Family plot in Boston, Massachusetts.

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