Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Ambrose J. Burke (November 27, 1895 – October 6, 1998) was an English professor and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest who served as the eighth president of

Saint Ambrose University St. Ambrose University is a private Catholic university in Davenport, Iowa. It was founded as a school of commerce for young men in 1882. History Foundation St. Ambrose was founded as a seminary and school of commerce for young men in 1882, kn ...

(then Saint Ambrose College) from 1940 through 1956. A native of Iowa, he attended the college's high school program, and then the college itself, but was expelled from the seminary for a year and a half by the school's administrator for planning an evening of carousing. He eventually acquired a master's degree and a doctorate in English from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and returned to St. Ambrose in 1921 as an instructor. He was appointed the school's president in 1940 and served for sixteen years, then the longest tenure of any St. Ambrose president. He worked as a pastor and a chaplain for many decades after and remained active until shortly before his death in October 1998, at the age of 102.

Early life

Burke was born November 27, 1895, in

Sigourney, Iowa Sigourney ( ) is a city in Keokuk County, Iowa, Keokuk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,004 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Keokuk County, Iowa, Keokuk County. Keokuk County Court ...

. At the age of 14 he attended St. Ambrose Academy in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, which was then the high school program for

(then known as Saint Ambrose College) and has now been merged into Assumption High School. He then moved on to St. Ambrose College, but was expelled in his second year when his plans to go carousing were discovered by the school authorities. He was not permitted to return to the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

for a year and a half. He was eventually ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 1921 in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Career at St. Ambrose

Burke had also obtained his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

English studies English studies (usually called simply English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries; it is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which ...

from

and returned to St. Ambrose in 1921 as an English instructor, eventually becoming the head of the department. In 1940 he was appointed to the presidency of the college by

Henry Rohlman Henry Patrick Rohlman (March 17, 1876 – September 13, 1957) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Davenport in Iowa from 1927 to 1944 and as coadjutor archbishop and archbishop of the Archdi ...

, then

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Diocese of Davenport The Diocese of Davenport ( la, Diœcesis Davenportensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the U.S. state of Iowa. There are within the diocese. The diocese's eastern ...

, replacing

Carl Meinberg Carl H. Meinberg (January 11, 1889 – April 15, 1975) was a 20th-century Catholic priest in the United States who served as the seventh president of St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa from 1937 to 1940. He is included by the Diocese of Dav ...

after the latter's retirement. Although he claimed original that he did not want the job, as he would have preferred to continue teaching instead, he served in this capacity for sixteen years, the longest tenure in the post until

Edward Rogalski Edward Rogalski (born February 16, 1942Flansburg, Susan, ''SCENE Magazine'' of St. Ambrose University, Summer 2007. Accessed January 11, 2008."Born Feb. 16, 1942, to Polish immigrants in Manville, N.J., Ed Rogalski was the youngest of eight childre ...

's. During his presidency a library, an administrative building (McMullen Hall), and the Christ the King Chapel were constructed and enrollment reached a then-peak of over 1500 students. During this time he also hosted a three-part series on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''Catholic Hour'' entitled ''Sainthood, the Universal Vocation''. He left the school in 1956 after accepting a position as pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church. Ambrose Burke grave

Later life

Burke remained at St. Mary's until 1973, when he reached his mandatory retirement, and then served for over a decade as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

at the city's Mercy Hospital. Although he was officially retired by 1986, he remained active into his late 90s and continued to attend conventions on Catholicism in Clinton. For his

100th birthday A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cent ...

he celebrated a public mass in Clinton and attended a party the following day at St. Ambrose. He died on October 6, 1998, at the age of 102, in Clinton and was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Davenport.

References

External links

Archived copy of Ambrose Burke's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Ambrose 1895 births 1998 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians People from Sigourney, Iowa People from Davenport, Iowa Presidents of St. Ambrose University Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Iowa 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests 20th-century American academics