Rev. Msgr. Jeffrey D. Burrill, S.T.L., was appointed on Feb. 3 associate general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), where he will serve as administrator of the USCCB’s pastoral offices and a member of the executive staff. He is a priest of the Diocese of La Crosse and is pastor of St. Bronislava Church in Plover. The appointment is effective March 1.

USCCB is an assembly of the Catholic Church’s hierarchy in the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands which jointly exercise certain pastoral functions.

“Msgr. Burrill brings a unique combination of pastoral skills and leadership experience to complement and strengthen our service to each bishop and to the Conference as a whole,” said USCCB General Secretary Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield, who made the appointment.

Serving as pastor at St. Bronislava since 2013, Burrill served at the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 2009 to 2013, first as director of apostolic formation and then as the Carl J. Peter chair of homiletics, formation adviser and director of media relations.

He was pastor of the tri-parishes of St. Mary’s in Durand, Holy Rosary in Lima and Sacred Heart of Jesus in Mondovi from 2001 to 2009.

He taught and served as chaplain at Regis High School and Middle School in Eau Claire from 1999 to 2001.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Mary’s College Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minn., in 1994; a bachelor of sacred theology from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1997; and a licentiate in ecumenical theology from the Angelicum University, also in Rome, in 1999.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1998 in the Diocese of La Crosse. He served in several leadership positions for the diocese, including six years as a regional vicar and two terms on the Diocesan Presbyteral Council. Burrill also served as the ecumenical officer and as a member of the seminary admissions board.