Rev. Joseph F. Brennan

Retired Priest Father Joseph Francis Brennan died peacefully at his Lafayette residence in the early hours of the morning on Thursday, October 26, 2017. He was eighty-six years old. A Philadelphia native, Father was born on February 15, 1931. He grew up in a middle class Irish family and loved his Gaelic Catholic heritage. He originally studied journalism at Villanova University. It was during this time that he felt a strong call to the priesthood. He entered Saint John Seminary in Little Rock, Arkansas where he spent six years in formation for the priesthood. At that time eighteen men from the Diocese of Lafayette were also studying there. It was through his association with these men that he was drawn to the Lafayette Diocese and was accepted for service as a priest for the Diocese of Lafayette by Bishop Jules B. Jeanmard. He was ordained in Little Rock on May 7, 1959 and took his first assignment as assistant pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Lafayette. Father made many lifelong friends at Fatima and that cadre grew and grew from assignment to assignment. Through a chance phone call, he made the acquaintance of Father Floyd Calais and they became fast friends, speaking on a nearly daily basis, a friendship that has endured for almost sixty years. That first assignment would also introduce Father Brennan to a twelve year old girl named Charlene Richard, diagnosed with leukemia. At the request of her parents, Father Brennan explained to Charlene that she was dying. She amazed him with her faith and acceptance of returning to God at such a young age. Father ministered to her in her last thirteen days on earth and witnessed her offering of her terrible suffering for many intentions. The last night before she died she told him, "When you come tomorrow, I won't be able to talk but I will be praying for you from heaven." The impact of this heroic acceptance would change him forever; he promoted devotion to the "Little Cajun Saint" to the very end of his life. In 1966 Father Brennan was transferred to Sacred Heart Parish in Ville Platte where he served as associate and also coached football relying on his previous coaching experience before seminary, and ultimately, accompanying the team to their first ever state championship. His first pastorates of Saint Helena in Louisa and Saint Peter's in Four Corners were short-lived (1970-1972) because he was asked to return to Ville Platte to serve as the founding pastor of Queen of All Saints Parish (1972-1979). In late 1973 when Father Fideles Albritte, the founding spiritual director of the Cursillo movement in our diocese died, Father Brennan became his successor and for five years shepherded this movement which would form so many adults in the faith and help many others to find conversion and new life. It was during these years that Father Brennan's apostolic zeal for the wandering sheep would grow in confidence. At a chance meeting, after giving a talk at the Catholic Daughters convention in New Orleans in 1976, and in the course of exiting the hotel, Father Brennan had a "chance" meeting with Mother Teresa of Calcutta whom he already knew from the film Something Beautiful for God. They chatted about his experience with Operation Rice Bowl and she invited him to Calcutta. This pilgrimage would transform his priesthood again in a powerful way. He saw abject poverty for the first time on a devastating scale, on the streets of Calcutta, the leprosarium and the home for the dying run by the Missionaries of Charity. He returned home with a zeal to raise funds to help the "poorest of the poor." His association and friendship with Mother Teresa would grow as he supported her work and gave retreats to the sisters in several convents. From 1979 to 1982 Father Brennan served as pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Franklin to help the parish through a time of turmoil and reconciliation. In 1982 he was appointed as pastor of Saint Genevieve Church, replacing his old friend Father Calais as the pastor. He celebrated twenty-five years of priesthood in 1984. In 1985 Mother Teresa came to Lafayette to bring her sisters to Lafayette. She prayed with and addressed 10,000 on a day that would conclude with double rainbows over the Cajun Dome. This splendorous light would be necessary for dealing with the unveiling darkness ahead. The mid 1980's were a period of great pain faced by clergy, faithful and especially victims, in the wake of the priest sexual abuse crisis which began in the Diocese of Lafayette. It was during this period that Father was asked by the Lafayette Police Department to consult in a case of ritualized satanic abuse. He felt called to confront the "kingdom of darkness" hidden in plain view. He trained in British Columbia with Dr. Lawrence Pazder regarding the methods, symbols and patterns of abuse avowed by Satanists. His passion was for helping the victims of ritualized abuse, counseling over two hundred children brought to him by loved ones to help them back into the "Kingdom of Light." Father often said that it was only because of his association with Charlene and Mother Teresa that he was able to find enough light to scatter the darkness. The work took a toll on him. His daily holy hour, one-on-one with Jesus, every morning was the stronghold for his joy and for teaching others how to pray. Father also was a strong supporter of the pro-life movement, calling on the moral voice of his dear friend in Calcutta to support pro-life bills before the Louisiana legislature. He served on many different Diocesan committees and was Chancellor of Saint Genevieve Elementary and Monsignor Teurlings Catholic High School. He wrote several books and tapes about prayer and the spiritual life. After fourteen years as pastor of Saint Genevieve Father Brennan retired in 1996. "Retired," does a priest ever retire? Certainly not this one. Priesthood is a vocation, not a job. Ordination permanently, invisibly changes a man and configures his very soul as a priest of Jesus Christ. Father's retirement home became a spiritual "field hospital" for every sort of person. A phone call with a cable TV representative became a visit to Father's home for confession and a return to the sacraments. As his health flagged, nurses and doctors would line up to go to confession in his hospital room. Father thrived when connected to people; and that remained to the last. Father is preceded in death by his parents Joseph and Kathryn Brennan and his older brother Daniel Brennan. Father Brennan found a spiritual family here in Acadiana where he has served as a priest for 58 years. We are especially grateful to his beloved caretakers, directed by Michelle Minor, for his generous friends who kept him in his home, and for the astounding care from his devout physicians, Dr. Kenneth McCarron (Father's former altar boy) and Dr. Agostino "Gus" Ingraldi (another native Philadelphian and instant friend). "How can we thank God enough for you?" (1 Thessalonians 3:9) Funeral arrangements are as follows: Father Brennan's body will lie in state at Saint Mary, Mother of the Church, Catholic Church (419 Doucet Rd., Lafayette, LA, 70503), on Saturday, October 28th from 8:00 AM until noon with a rosary to be recited at 11:30 AM. Viewing will resume at St. Genevieve Catholic Church, (417 East Simcoe Street, Lafayette, LA, 70501) on Monday, October 30th from 1 p.m. until Mass of Christian Burial, to be celebrated by Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel, D.D., at 2:00 p.m. in Saint Genevieve Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made in Father's memory to the Missionaries of Charity, 904 Jack St, Lafayette, LA 70501 or to the Father Joseph Brennan Seminary Burse, Diocese of Lafayette, 1408 Carmel Avenue, Lafayette, LA 70501. View the obituary and guestbook online at www.mourning.com Martin & Castille-DOWNTOWN-330 St. Landry St., Lafayette, LA 70506, 337-234-2311