Msgr. George BrowneOn July 15, Msgr. George Browne entered into eternal life. He was 85.
After being ordained in 1955, Msgr. Browne began a 61-year ministry in the priesthood, serving a number of assignments across the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Known for his card-playing prowess, quick wit and love of the TV game show “Jeopardy!”, Msgr. Browne was storyteller like no other, according to Fr. Stephen Rooney, pastor of Our Lady on the River Parish in Marine City, where Msgr. Browne served and where his funeral was to take place July 21.
“In truth, Msgr. Browne was a scealai, a person in the Irish language who holds the ancient lore,” Fr. Rooney said. “Before there was a written word, everyone relied on the scealai. His mother was born in Ireland, father from Australia. During the Depression, they went back to Ireland to live in Tuam in County Galway; it was in Ireland where he first spoke.”
Born in Detroit in 1930 to George and Mary Browne, Msgr. Browne grew up with his brother, Fr. Joseph Browne, CSC, and his sisters, Sr. Maria Goretti Browne, OP, and Teresa Browne. From the time he was young, he was inseparable from his siblings and always regarded as kind.
“He and his older brother, Fr. Joseph, were inseparable as kids,” Teresa Browne told The Michigan Catholic. “The reason why George started school when he did was because he wouldn’t let his brother go to school without him.”
Teresa doesn’t recall a time a time when Msgr. Browne didn’t want to be a priest, but she said she’ll always remember his card-playing ability, describing anytime she could beat him at pinochle as a “good day.”
“When we were kids, we’d all play cards, Mom and Dad and all of us,” Teresa Browne said. “We learned every card game there was. When we’d get together, we’d talk together and then the cards would come out.”
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit in 1951, Msgr. Browne went to St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, and was ordained in 1955 by Cardinal Edward A. Mooney.
Msgr. Browne served at a number of assignments in his ministry, notably at St. Angela Parish in Roseville from 1981 to 2000 and as the director of the Alumni Association at Sacred Heart Major Seminary from 2006 to 2012.
In 1991, he was presented with the Cardinal Dearden Award to study in Louvain, Belgium, and in 2005, he was named a monsignor.
Msgr. Browne served as an associate pastor at the parishes of Holy Cross in Marine City (1955-60); Precious Blood (1960-65), St. Brigid (1965-67), St. Joseph (1967-68) and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1968) in Detroit; as the chaplain of the Catholic Youth Organization (1968); pastor of the parishes of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Detroit (1968-71), St. Benedict in Waterford (1971-1976), Holy Cross in Marine City (1976-81) and St. Angela in Roseville (1981-2000); administrator at the parishes of St. Barnabas in Eastpointe (2000-01), St. Augustine in Richmond (2002 and 2006), St. Mark on Harsens Island (2003), Holy Cross in Marine City (2003), St. Hubert in Harrison Township (2003 and 2007), St. Kenneth in Plymouth (2004), Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Emmett (2006) and Our Lady on the River in Marine City (2010).
Msgr. Browne was a member of the Presbyteral Council (1998-2000; 2003-05) and vicar of the Old SERF vicariate (1989-92).
“He had a great love for the priesthood,” Fr. Rooney said. “Everything he did revolved around being a priest. He had this dry sense of humor and quick wit – at times he could be a wee bit salty. He was absolutely obsessed with the written word, proper grammar and punctuation. He would scan the newspaper every morning, looking for mistakes.”
Visitation was to take place at Our Lady on the River Parish, 610 S. Water St., Marine City on Wednesday, July 20 from 12 to 7 p.m., with a rosary at 12 p.m. and a wake service at 7 p.m. Visitation will continue on Thursday, July 21, from 10 a.m. until his funeral Mass at 12 p.m., with interment to follow at Holy Cross Cemetery in Marine City.
“He loved Marine City; one of his first assignments was at Holy Cross in Marine City, and he just loved the town,” Fr. Rooney said. “He stayed in connection with the kids in school, who they married, who their kids are. He was a wealth of information regarding the history of the town and church and all of St. Clair County. I remember when we’d go on meetings, he’d be driving all the backroads, pointing me out to houses and giving the history of the people who lived there. He always attributed it to being an Irish trait.”
As he was nearing the end of his life, Msgr. Browne instructed Fr. Rooney what he wanted from his funeral Mass, at which Auxiliary Bishop Michael J. Byrnes will preside.
“He told me, ‘It’s a funeral Mass, not a eulogy or a canonization, so make it about the Resurrection,’” Fr. Rooney said. “And I replied to him with his catchphrase, ‘I’ll do what I always do, ‘Say a kind word and a prayer.’”
