User:TRMeyerho/sandbox/John F. Fink

John F. Fink

John F. Fink (born Dec. 17, 1931) is an American Catholic journalist and author, known for his leadership in Catholic publishing. Following a career in Catholic journalism and publishing, he began writing books upon his retirement at the end of 1996. To date, he has published more than a dozen books about the Catholic religion, with a special focus on Catholic Saints. His writing is accessible, intended for a broad audience.

Early Life and Education John Francis (Jack) Fink was born Dec. 17, 1931 in Fort Wayne Indiana. He grew up in Huntington, Indiana, the oldest of the six surviving children of William Anthony "Bill" Fink and Helen Elizabeth Hartman Fink. His father's uncle was Archbishop John Francis Noll, the bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne/South Bend from 1925 to 1956 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Noll. Archbishop Noll founded Our Sunday Visitor as a national Catholic newspaper in 1912. https://www.oursundayvisitor.com/founder His goal was evangelization and Our Sunday Visitor grew to become one of the largest English, Catholic publishing companies in the world. In time, both Bill Fink and Jack Fink would lead Our Sunday Visitor. John Fink attended St. Mary's Catholic school in Huntington, Ind., through the eighth grade. He then began high school at St. Joeeph's Academy near Rensselaer, Ind., at the age of 12. He was young for ninth grade because he began first grade at the age of five and skipped seventh grade because of strong academic performance. The school closed during his second year, and he transferred to Huntington Catholic High School. He graduated in 1948 at the age of 16. After working for a year at Our Sunday Visitor, Fink entered the University of Notre Dame in 1949. He was a member of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and worked in the university's Office of Information Services. He graduated with a degree in Journalism in May 1953.

Career Jack Fink's first job was mowing the lawn at Our Sunday Visitor (OSV), which he began in 1947 at the age of 15. Memoirs of a Catholic Journalist He then began taking on a variety of jobs for the publication with increasing levels of responsibility, from reviewing circulation lists to proofreading, all while still a high school student. While an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame, he reviewed manuscripts. Following his college graduation, he worked in the editorial department at Our Sunday Visitor. Fink entered the U.S. Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, in January, 1954. He served as an Information Services Officer at the Technical Training Air Force in Gulfport, Miss. He was discharged in January 1956. Fink returned to Our Sunday Visitor full time after his military discharge. In 1957, he became editor of the publication The Family Digest while remaining an associate editor for the weekly newspaper. In 1967, Fink relinquished editorial roles at Our Sunday Visitor to become marketing manager. In November, 1971, Fink was appointed acting executive vice president and chief executive officer of Our Sunday Visitor when his father, who held those positions, became incapacitated following a heart attack. After Bill Fink's death on Dec. 4, 1971, the appointment became permanent. Under his leadership, Our Sunday Visitor expanded its book publishing and increased the number of periodicals it published. OSV's book catalog included children's books, fiction and scholarly works, in addition to a Catholic Catechism, prayer books and educational lines. Memoirs of a Catholic Journalist The Our Sunday Visitor Institute was founded as a way to distribute profits for the benefit of the Catholic Church. In 1978, he established Noll Printing, as an independent for-profit business entity. In 1976, Fink was named president of Our Sunday Visitor. Throughout his career, Fink was active in civic and religious organizations and served on a variety of nonprofit boards. His board memberships include Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities (FADICA), the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), the International Catholic Union of the Press, the International Catholic Organizations Center, He served on the Communications Committee of the U.S. Catholic Conference (1981-84) and was president of the Catholic Press Association. He is both a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre and a Knight of Malta.

Family

John F. Fink's married Marie Therese Waldron Fink on May 31, 1955. They had seven children: Regina Marie Fink (1956), Barbara Ann Fink (1957), Robert Paul Fink (1959), Stephen Lawrence Fink (1961), Therese Rose Fink Meyerhoff (1963), David Francis Fink (1965) and John Noll Fink (1968). Marie Fink died May 17, 2010. Jack Fink married Constance Winchester on July 13, 2013.