The role of the superintendent in developing Catholic schools in the United States has received little attention. This book presents a historical overview of the Chief Administrators of Catholic Education (CACE). Following the foreword, dedication, introduction, and acknowledgments, part 1 traces the origins of the diocesan superintendency. Part 2 explains how the CACE developed into a component of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and provides a history of the NCEA and the Catholic Education Association (CEA). Part 3 describes the challenges of the early years, as gleaned from an analysis of superintendents' formal meeting papers from 1908 to 1935. The data indicate that superintendents were primarily occupied with organizing the administrative system, standardizing the curriculum, and improving teacher education. The fourth part contains biographical sketches of CACE's early leaders. Appendices contain biographies of other notables, excerpts from the formal meeting papers, a list of superintendents' section officers for the period 1908-35, and an index of CEA superintendents' section papers by topic. Endnotes accompany each chapter. (LMI)