Joseph Bernard Brunini

Joseph Bernard Brunini (July 24, 1909 – January 7, 1996) was an American Catholic prelate who served as bishop of the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson and later the Diocese of Jackson in Mississippi from 1967 to 1984. He previously served as auxiliary bishop of Natchez-Jackson from 1957 to 1967.

Biography

Early life Joseph Brunini was born on July 24, 1909, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the sixth child of John and Blanche (née Stein) Brunini. John Brunini was the son of Italian immigrants and worked as a lawyer, founding the law firm Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes; Blanche Brunini was Jewish.

After attending St. Aloysius High School in Vicksburg, Joseph Brunini studied at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1930.

Following his return to the United States, the diocese assigned Brunini as a curate at St. Mary's Cathedral Parish in Natchez, Mississippi. He was later sent to Washington D.C to complete his graduate studies at the Catholic University of America, obtaining a Doctor of Canon Law degree in 1937.

Auxiliary Bishop of Natchez-Jackson On November 28, 1956, Brunini was appointed auxiliary bishop of Natchez-Jackson and titular bishop of Axomis by Pope Pius XII. He co-found and served as the first president of the Mississippi Religious Leadership Conference.

Paul VI transformed the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson into the Diocese of Jackson on March 1, 1977, with Brunini remaining as its bishop.

Retirement and death Brunini retired as bishop of Jackson on January 24, 1984. He died while attending a conference in Convent, Louisiana, on January 7, 1996, at age 86.