József Burg was born on September 7, 1806, in Trenčín, in the Kingdom of Hungary, to Ferenc Burg and Heléna Pettkó. He completed his secondary education at the Piarist high school in Trencsén, and on September 10, 1829, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Esztergom. He first served as an assistant pastor and diocesan judge in Udvard, and from 1835 onward, he was the parish priest of Farkasd.

In 1838, he left his post and announced his intention to resign and convert to the Reformed faith. A few years later, however, he regretted his decision and volunteered for missionary work in the United States. He arrived in the Diocese of Philadelphia in 1841. On November 10, 1842, Bishop Peter Richard Kenrick appointed him the first pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Pottsville, which was composed of German-speaking parishioners. He led the community until his death.

Part of his correspondence with Bishop Kenrick, written in Latin, has been preserved in the archives of the Philadelphia Cathedral. His last known letter was dated January 4, 1849, in Pottsville. He passed away twelve days later, on January 16, 1849. A contemporary obituary remembered him as a native of Hungary and former parish priest of Farkasd. After his death, Father Peter Carbon temporarily took over the leadership of St. John the Baptist Parish. József Burg was among the earliest known Hungarian Catholic priests to serve in the United States, and he was presumably the first Catholic priest of Hungarian descent to die in the United States and be buried there.

We would like to thank Patrick Shank, archivist at the Catholic Historical Research Center
of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, for clarifying the locations of his service in the United States and the site of his burial.

Levelezése Peter Richard Kenrick philadelphiai püspökkel fennmaradt.