John E. Swift

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Judge John E. Swift was the ninth Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus from October 24, 1945 to August 31, 1953.

Swift was born in Massachusetts and married a woman named Emily. He was a Boston judge for many years. After being elected the ninth Supreme Knight in 1945 Swift began a nationwide crusade against the Communist threat in America. President Harry Truman endorsed the effort and mentioned in a letter to Swift, that he hoped the entire membership "will join the crusade with zeal and enthusiasm." President Truman further stated that "Our goal must be to drive out of our American life every movement which aims to promote within our borders any form of totalitarianism or any subversive movement."

A Manual for Discussion Groups was prepared by the Knights for Swift's crusade. Boston Auxiliary Bishop John J. Wright lauded that the manual was "an amazing production, profoundly thought-provoking and admirably condensed."

Swift was a Massachusetts Superior Court Justice in 1947. His wife Emily died at the age of fifty-nine at their home in Milford on November 9, 1947 of a coronary thrombosis after a long illness.

In 1950, after a Special Audience with Pope Pius XII, Swift instituted a fund for the purchase and construction of the last playground in Rome. Primavalle, a newly populated district, was chosen for the site. This playground was named Pius XII in honor of Pope Eugenio Pacelli and dedicated and blessed by His Eminence Cardinal Francis Spellman, Archbishop of New York, on June 7, 1952.