John Edward Swift (December 7, 1879 – August 19, 1967)
was an American judge who served as the ninth
Supreme Knight of the
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...
from October 24, 1945, to August 31, 1953.
Early life
Swift was born in Milford, Massachusetts, in 1879 to Irish immigrants.
[ He received a bachelor's degree from Boston College in 1899 and a law degree from ]Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
in 1902. As a lawyer, he worked for Senator David I. Walsh and then with his brother Thomas in private practice.
Career
United States federal work
Swift was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1916 and 1920 and was admitted to the Supreme Court Bar Association in 1917. On May 17, 1933, he was appointed a Superior Court judge in Massachusetts to succeed Webster Thayer
Webster Thayer (July 7, 1857 – April 18, 1933) was a judge of the Superior Court of Massachusetts, best known as the trial judge in the Sacco and Vanzetti case.
Background
Thayer was born in Blackstone, Massachusetts, on July 7, 1857. He att ...
.
Knights of Columbus
Swift joined the Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...
and was a member of Valencia Council 80 in Milford. He served as grand knight, district deputy, state secretary, and finally was elected State Deputy of Massachusetts on May 10, 1927. He became a Supreme Director in 1927 and then Deputy Supreme Knight in 1939. He was elected Supreme Knight in 1945 and declined renomination in 1953.
A staunch anti-communist, his denunciations of Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
expansion led the USSR to veto Boston as the home of the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
.
As Supreme Knight, he began a nationwide crusade against Communism. President Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
endorsed the effort and mentioned in a letter to Swift that he hoped the entire membership "will join the crusade with zeal and enthusiasm."Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. Primavalle, a newly populated district, was chosen for the site. This playground was named Pius XII and dedicated and blessed by Cardinal Francis Spellman
Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 1939 until his death in 1967, he served as the sixth Archbishop of New York; he had previously served as an auxiliary ...
, Archbishop of New York, on June 7, 1952.
Personal life
Swift was named a Massachusetts Superior Court Justice in 1947. His wife Emily died, aged 59, at their home in Milford on November 9, 1947, from a coronary thrombosis
Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart at ...
following a long illness. Swift died at his summer home in Osterville, Massachusetts
Osterville is one of seven villages within the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. The village of Osterville is located on the south side of Barnstable on Nantucket Sound. Osterville is a residential community that includes marshes, ...
, on August 19, 1967.
Awards and honors
Swift was the recipient of three honorary degrees, the 1953 Catholic Action Medal, and the 1961 Lantern Award. Pope Pius XII
Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia.
It may refer to:
People Popes
* Pope Pius (disambiguation)
* Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect
Given name
* Pius ...
gave him at least three honors, including Order of Cape and Sword, which was reaffirmed by Popes John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
and Paul VI.
References
External links
Website of the Knights of Columbus
* ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', Mrs. John E. Swift Obituary, November 10, 1947, page 29.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, John E.
American judges
American Roman Catholics
Lawyers from Boston
Roman Catholic activists
Place of birth missing
American anti-communists
1879 births
1967 deaths
Supreme Knights of the Knights of Columbus
Deputy Supreme Knights of the Knights of Columbus