The Rev. John H. Miller: Led Catholic Social Action Organization Based in St. Louis

The Rev. John Harold Miller, a Catholic priest who spent 20 years as executive director of a Catholic social action agency, died of cancer Wednesday (Feb. 8, 2006) at Holy Cross House in Notre Dame, Ind. He was 80.

Father Miller was director of the Central Bureau of the Catholic Central Verein of America. The bureau, at 3835 Westminster Place, St. Louis, is the headquarters of the national organization.

He moved to the priests' retirement home in Indiana after retiring in January from the Central Bureau. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 10 months ago.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday at St. Ignatius Church in Austin, Texas. A memorial Mass was celebrated Saturday in Notre Dame.

Father Miller took over as director of the central bureau in 1986 and became editor of the bureau's bi-monthly journal, the Social Justice Review. The publication, with a circulation of about 5,000, goes to members of Congress, bishops and federal judges and various officeholders.

Tom Hoover, archivist and librarian at the central bureau, said Father Miller was a studious man who translated books from French into English and was familiar with seven languages. He enjoyed taking twice-weekly swims at the downtown YMCA and dining at Italian restaurants. "He also had a corny sense of humor that showed he was an affable, humorous fellow," Hoover said.

Father Miller was the youngest of six children. He was born in New Orleans in 1925. He was ordained in 1951 and celebrated his first Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

He had studied at the University of Notre Dame and at the Angelicum in Rome, and went to Germany where he received his doctorate in sacred theology from the Theological Faculty at Trier.

He taught theology at Holy Cross College and the Catholic University of America in Washington; at the University of Notre Dame; and at Loyola University of the South and Notre Dame Seminary, both in New Orleans.

He wrote several books about Catholicism, among them "Fundamentals of the Liturgy" and "Signs of Transformation in Christ." In 1963, he became staff editor for liturgy and sacramental theology on the New Catholic Encyclopaedia. He edited eight volumes of the "Yearbook of Liturgical Studies (1960-67)" and "Vatican II - An Interfaith Appraisal (1966)."

He received as appointment in 1964 as consultant to the Papal Post-conciliar Commission for the Reform of the Liturgy. From 1976 to 1980, he served as provincial of the southern province of the Holy Cross Fathers in Austin.

He is survived by many nephews and nieces, mostly in the New Orleans and Detroit areas.

Burial will be in Assumption Cemetery in Austin.