John Joseph Wynne, SJ

chapter 3 Ever Bright Light: John Joseph Wynne, S.J. (1859–1948) We are a people who respect belief, but who value action more.1 —John J. Wynne, s.j., 1909 ∵ Like many of his Progressive Era peers, John J. Wynne had an eclectic career. However, Wynne separated himself from most of his contemporaries in one notable way. He never stopped moving. He was by his own admission a doer more than a thinker. “We are a people who respect belief, but who value action more,” he wrote in America’s inaugural editorial.2 He even explained that “one of his motives in becoming a Jesuit was that every moment of his time could be devoted to one good work or another.”3 Wynne remained faithful to this motive throughout his life. One provincial commented that Wynne was “very pious, most amenable,” and though he had “too many ideas,” he was at least “absolutely obedient.”4 Despite his obedience, Wynne’s “too many ideas” could at times fluster his fellow Jesuits, especially those not accustomed to his “pun- ishing work ethic.”5 At every moment, Wynne multitasked as “he planned for the next step, the next goal, calmly, smoothly, and seamlessly moving from one task to the next.”6 Once, he even wrote to Pace to explain that he thought it best to start a new project, “if only to accelerate what we have already got going.”7 So “relentless and meticulous, organized and disciplined” was Wynne’s work ethic, so perpetual was his motion, that Anderson describes him somewhat 1 Wynne, “Editorial Announcement,” America 1, no. 1 (April 17, 1909): 5–6, here 5. 2 Ibid. 3 Untitled newspaper clipping in John J. Wynne, s.j., Folder Wynne, John. J. Died 11/30/48, anypsj. 4 Ciani, “Man with Too Many Ideas,” 494. 5 Anderson, Death and Afterlife, 144. 6 Ibid. 7 John J. Wynne, s.j., to Edward A. Pace, January 20, 1915, Correspondence Box 1, Folder 11, 1915–16, Catholic Encyclopedia Archives, acua. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ��7 | doi �0.��63/97890043045�9_005 <UN> 98 chapter 3 unflatteringly as “sharklike.”8 Wynne spent most of his seventy-two years in the Society of Jesus starting new projects. Fortunately, his long career passed through three major phases that, although overlapping to a considerable degree in both chronology and content, allow one to categorize and classify his activity. Each of these phases will be explored in the rough chronological order in which they occurred. First, for the five years between 1882 and 1887, Wynne worked as an educator.9 Then, starting shortly after ordination in 1891 and continuing through the late 1930s, he was employed as an editor of various publications while working simultaneously on the causes of the North Ameri- can Martyrs and “his beloved” Kateri Tekakwitha.10 At the same time, from 1923 until his death in 1948, Wynne worked as the vice-postulator for the canoniza- tion causes. Early Years and Education John Joseph Wynne was born to Maurice and Mary (née Donnellan) Wynne in New York City on September 30, 1859. Little is known about his early years beyond the few bits of personal information he shared over the course of his lifetime. Though no information exists on his father’s ancestry, he did indicate that his mother had been a guardian of Archbishop John MacHale (1789–1881) of Tuam, County Galway, Ireland.11 The cause of her guardianship is unknown, though Wynne’s birth in 1859 likely means that his mother emigrated during the first great wave of Irish immigration to the United States in the mid- nineteenth century. From comments Wynne made during his fiftieth jubilee as a Jesuit, it is clear that his mother maintained contact with MacHale, and that the archbishop was solicited for advice concerning Wynne’s education.12 Little else is known about Wynne’s family situation beyond two references he made to his sisters.13 8 Anderson, Death and Afterlife, 144. 9 The period corresponds to his regency in the Society of Jesus. 10 Anderson, Death and Afterlife, 148. 11 Wynne, “Retrospect,” 84. 12 Ibid. 13 John J. Wynne, s.j., to Edward A. Pace, November 9, 1921, Correspondence and State- ments, 1921–25, Folder 1921, Catholic Education Association, acua; John J. Wynne, s.j., to M.J. Madigan, December 8, 1925, Folder Jesuit Relations, anypsj. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to contact St. Bernard’s to inquire about Wynne’s familial records. <UN>.

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