Monsignor Pat Browne's Farewell Mass- 17th April 2017
Easter Bank Holiday Monday- 17th April- The day of Monsignor Pat Browne’s Farewell Mass had arrived and Parishioners were busy getting things ready for this special retirement Mass. People started arriving from about 11:00 to ensure they had a place to sit in the Church.
Many priests joined us for the Mass at St. Anne’s in Digbeth - Monsignor Timothy Menezes along with Frs. Gerry Kelly, Seamus Hetherton, Martin Newell and John Kearns as well as the main celebrant, Fr. Pat of course.
At 12:00 noon the first hymn began to a crowded Church with people standing at the back. The procession of priests and many altar servers made their way down to the Sanctuary as the congregation sang ‘This is the Day.’
Fr. Pat started by thanking everyone for being there and that he was quite overwhelmed by the turnout. Fr. Kelly read the Gospel with Monsignor Timothy giving the homily.
In his homily he started with the verse from the Psalm that had just been read, ‘I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart. I keep the Lord ever in my sight. Since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.’ He went on to explain, ‘…that these are words which speak of the priestly life and the many moments at which the priest knows that in order to fulfil his task as a minister of Word and Sacrament for the People of God, he needs to remember where that strength comes from.’
He said, ‘Pat's family had given him to the mission in England, at his Ordination in 1974 - and so recognised God's calling when he went to seminary in 1968. He questioned amusingly whether, ‘…the family actually wanted him back,’ but afterwards quoted that, ’It is clear they do want him back among them.’
He reminded us that ‘…priests come from ordinary families, but that the family supports them in so many ways; and that as he prepares to return to Ireland, many people here will know that as well as the family there, many of you, the parishioners and friends here have become Fr. Pat's family over these many years of priestly life in Birmingham.’
Monsignor Menezes went on to ask us to pray for Fr. Bob Murphy, the new Parish Priest of St. Anne’s and English Martyrs.
The homily was concluded with a message from His Grace, Archbishop Bernard, which read;
‘I want to wish you all a very blessed and happy Easter as you gather at St Anne’s to celebrate today’s Mass of Thanksgiving with Mgr Pat Browne. I wish to record my sincere thanks to Mgr Pat as he is about to step down from his responsibilities at St Anne’s and at the English Martyrs, Sparkhill to live close to his family home in Ferbane, beside the River Brosna in County Offaly. I am told that the name Ferbane comes from the Irish for “white grass” – but all of us who know Mgr Pat can testify that he has never let the grass grow under his feet.
He has served the Church in our Archdiocese with dedication and distinction for forty-three years since his ordination in 1974. Alongside his pastoral care for the People of God in nine successive parish appointments, Mgr Pat served the clergy and people of the four Birmingham deaneries as Episcopal Vicar and he offered wise counsel to Cardinal Vincent and myself as a member of the Archbishop’s’ Council for nearly fifteen years.
I am sure that Mgr Pat will recall the historic visit of Pope Benedict to Birmingham in 2010, for the Beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman at Cofton Park, as one of the busiest and most memorable periods of his priestly ministry. It was my first year in Birmingham and I shall never forget his steadfast support in preparing for the papal visit.
But above all, I thank Mgr Pat for simply following our Blessed Lord as His priest and seeking to lift up those who might otherwise have felt downcast or been overlooked within our local communities – and I suspect that this is what will bring him the greatest satisfaction in the years ahead. It is bearing fruit even now in Fatima House and Tabor House in Digbeth.
Dear Mgr Pat, I wish you every blessing as you begin the familiar journey from Birmingham to Ferbane this Eastertide. May the Lord always go before you to guide you along life’s pathways – and may he steer you back to Birmingham to be with us again from time to time in the years to come.
Is féidir dia duit! (May God bless you always!)
This was a fitting tribute from the Archbishop, to a much loved priest who had given his life to the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
The Mass continued with Prayers of the Faithful and an Offertory Procession which brought up the bread and wine and a plague of the Offaly Rover and a copy of a Celtic Cross from Clonmacnoise, made from turf.
Holy Communion was made very special with hymns from the choir including Song to the Trinity.
After Communion, Fr. Pat gave a speech of thanks and expressed how everything that he had done had been a ‘team effort,’ and that he hoped this would continue. He was completely overwhelmed by the turnout and very happy with his decision to retire back to Ireland while he still had good health.
Dawn Richards then went up on behalf of the Parishes Fr. Pat had ministered in to thank him. She noted the fact that, ‘There were not many people here today, if any, who hadn’t in some way had their lives touched in one way or another by Fr. Pat.
She mentioned how he had visited the sick, comforted the bereaved, listened to their many troubles but on the other hand shared in their many triumphs. She added that there were too many things to mention but the list was endless.
‘He has always been on hand to advise, help, encourage, inspire and support everyone in one way or another and for this we are all truly grateful,’ she said.
She went on to mention Fr. Pat’s great friend, John McSwiggan, who died recently and that Fr. Pat had great memories of John and if he were here at this Mass he would be looking on very proudly from the Sanctuary with a big smile on his face and thinking, ‘...that’s my friend!’
She added that the one person (Fr. Pat) she would usually go to for inspirational words, she couldn’t go to as it was for him, so she looked high and low and edited the following words which she felt summed up a farewell message from everyone:
‘You started on this journey,
So many years ago,
And now it’s time to leave behind
Dear friends you’ve come to know.
You sought Divine direction
And a heart to do His will.
Your work became your passion,
As you used your gifts and skills.
We pray God keeps you safe and well,
Wherever you may turn,
Surrounded by your loved ones,
Living out the dreams you’ve earned.
And in the quiet of your heart,
May you hear God softly say…
“My good and faithful servant,
I’m proud of you this day.”
…so now it is time to …’sail for home, never more to roam, from the green fields around Ferbane.’
Dawn then presented Fr. Pat with a gift from the Parishioners at St. Anne’s as the congregation thanked him with huge applause.
The Mass finished with a closing word of thanks to everyone from Monsignor Pat Browne before the final blessing and hymn.
All those who attended were invited into the hall next door for tea, coffee and cakes with some soda bread also thrown in.
Fr. Pat started his ministry as a Deacon in 1973 in Oxford. After his ordination in June 1974, he went to Stechford then moved to Coventry, Sparkhill, Burton on Trent and Holy Souls. This was followed by becoming Episcopal Vicar before taking over at West Heath and then he took up the role of Vicar General at the Cathedral. In 2010, after organising Pope Benedict’s visit to Birmingham, he took over as Parish Priest at St. Anne’s and last year took on the task of running both St. Anne’s and English Martyrs.
Fr. Pat would like to thank all those who attended the Mass, he was overwhelmed by the number of people in the congregation. He is also most thankful to the priests who concelebrated, the choir and musicians, the readers, altar servers, the offertory procession, photographers, tea/coffee makers and of course the very skilled bakers and all those who helped clean up afterwards.
He would also like to add a word of thanks to all those who sent or gave good luck messages and passed on gifts or contributed to the collection as well as those who attended the dance held in his honour and those who helped organise it.
Above all he would like to thank God for his eternal love, support and guidance during his ministry.
He has arrived safely and is settling into retirement very quickly! After a well-earned holiday he will be helping out in his own Parish and neighbouring parishes in his diocese.
On behalf of all your friends, parishioners fellow clergy and religious throughout the Archdiocese of Birmingham we thank God for your ministry to our Archdiocese,
Fr. Pat – thank you and God bless!
(Words in italics from His Grace Archbishop Bernard Longley and Monsignor Timothy Menezes.)
Many priests joined us for the Mass at St. Anne’s in Digbeth - Monsignor Timothy Menezes along with Frs. Gerry Kelly, Seamus Hetherton, Martin Newell and John Kearns as well as the main celebrant, Fr. Pat of course.
At 12:00 noon the first hymn began to a crowded Church with people standing at the back. The procession of priests and many altar servers made their way down to the Sanctuary as the congregation sang ‘This is the Day.’
Fr. Pat started by thanking everyone for being there and that he was quite overwhelmed by the turnout. Fr. Kelly read the Gospel with Monsignor Timothy giving the homily.
In his homily he started with the verse from the Psalm that had just been read, ‘I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart. I keep the Lord ever in my sight. Since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.’ He went on to explain, ‘…that these are words which speak of the priestly life and the many moments at which the priest knows that in order to fulfil his task as a minister of Word and Sacrament for the People of God, he needs to remember where that strength comes from.’
He said, ‘Pat's family had given him to the mission in England, at his Ordination in 1974 - and so recognised God's calling when he went to seminary in 1968. He questioned amusingly whether, ‘…the family actually wanted him back,’ but afterwards quoted that, ’It is clear they do want him back among them.’
He reminded us that ‘…priests come from ordinary families, but that the family supports them in so many ways; and that as he prepares to return to Ireland, many people here will know that as well as the family there, many of you, the parishioners and friends here have become Fr. Pat's family over these many years of priestly life in Birmingham.’
Monsignor Menezes went on to ask us to pray for Fr. Bob Murphy, the new Parish Priest of St. Anne’s and English Martyrs.
The homily was concluded with a message from His Grace, Archbishop Bernard, which read;
‘I want to wish you all a very blessed and happy Easter as you gather at St Anne’s to celebrate today’s Mass of Thanksgiving with Mgr Pat Browne. I wish to record my sincere thanks to Mgr Pat as he is about to step down from his responsibilities at St Anne’s and at the English Martyrs, Sparkhill to live close to his family home in Ferbane, beside the River Brosna in County Offaly. I am told that the name Ferbane comes from the Irish for “white grass” – but all of us who know Mgr Pat can testify that he has never let the grass grow under his feet.
He has served the Church in our Archdiocese with dedication and distinction for forty-three years since his ordination in 1974. Alongside his pastoral care for the People of God in nine successive parish appointments, Mgr Pat served the clergy and people of the four Birmingham deaneries as Episcopal Vicar and he offered wise counsel to Cardinal Vincent and myself as a member of the Archbishop’s’ Council for nearly fifteen years.
I am sure that Mgr Pat will recall the historic visit of Pope Benedict to Birmingham in 2010, for the Beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman at Cofton Park, as one of the busiest and most memorable periods of his priestly ministry. It was my first year in Birmingham and I shall never forget his steadfast support in preparing for the papal visit.
But above all, I thank Mgr Pat for simply following our Blessed Lord as His priest and seeking to lift up those who might otherwise have felt downcast or been overlooked within our local communities – and I suspect that this is what will bring him the greatest satisfaction in the years ahead. It is bearing fruit even now in Fatima House and Tabor House in Digbeth.
Dear Mgr Pat, I wish you every blessing as you begin the familiar journey from Birmingham to Ferbane this Eastertide. May the Lord always go before you to guide you along life’s pathways – and may he steer you back to Birmingham to be with us again from time to time in the years to come.
Is féidir dia duit! (May God bless you always!)
This was a fitting tribute from the Archbishop, to a much loved priest who had given his life to the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
The Mass continued with Prayers of the Faithful and an Offertory Procession which brought up the bread and wine and a plague of the Offaly Rover and a copy of a Celtic Cross from Clonmacnoise, made from turf.
Holy Communion was made very special with hymns from the choir including Song to the Trinity.
After Communion, Fr. Pat gave a speech of thanks and expressed how everything that he had done had been a ‘team effort,’ and that he hoped this would continue. He was completely overwhelmed by the turnout and very happy with his decision to retire back to Ireland while he still had good health.
Dawn Richards then went up on behalf of the Parishes Fr. Pat had ministered in to thank him. She noted the fact that, ‘There were not many people here today, if any, who hadn’t in some way had their lives touched in one way or another by Fr. Pat.
She mentioned how he had visited the sick, comforted the bereaved, listened to their many troubles but on the other hand shared in their many triumphs. She added that there were too many things to mention but the list was endless.
‘He has always been on hand to advise, help, encourage, inspire and support everyone in one way or another and for this we are all truly grateful,’ she said.
She went on to mention Fr. Pat’s great friend, John McSwiggan, who died recently and that Fr. Pat had great memories of John and if he were here at this Mass he would be looking on very proudly from the Sanctuary with a big smile on his face and thinking, ‘...that’s my friend!’
She added that the one person (Fr. Pat) she would usually go to for inspirational words, she couldn’t go to as it was for him, so she looked high and low and edited the following words which she felt summed up a farewell message from everyone:
‘You started on this journey,
So many years ago,
And now it’s time to leave behind
Dear friends you’ve come to know.
You sought Divine direction
And a heart to do His will.
Your work became your passion,
As you used your gifts and skills.
We pray God keeps you safe and well,
Wherever you may turn,
Surrounded by your loved ones,
Living out the dreams you’ve earned.
And in the quiet of your heart,
May you hear God softly say…
“My good and faithful servant,
I’m proud of you this day.”
…so now it is time to …’sail for home, never more to roam, from the green fields around Ferbane.’
Dawn then presented Fr. Pat with a gift from the Parishioners at St. Anne’s as the congregation thanked him with huge applause.
The Mass finished with a closing word of thanks to everyone from Monsignor Pat Browne before the final blessing and hymn.
All those who attended were invited into the hall next door for tea, coffee and cakes with some soda bread also thrown in.
Fr. Pat started his ministry as a Deacon in 1973 in Oxford. After his ordination in June 1974, he went to Stechford then moved to Coventry, Sparkhill, Burton on Trent and Holy Souls. This was followed by becoming Episcopal Vicar before taking over at West Heath and then he took up the role of Vicar General at the Cathedral. In 2010, after organising Pope Benedict’s visit to Birmingham, he took over as Parish Priest at St. Anne’s and last year took on the task of running both St. Anne’s and English Martyrs.
Fr. Pat would like to thank all those who attended the Mass, he was overwhelmed by the number of people in the congregation. He is also most thankful to the priests who concelebrated, the choir and musicians, the readers, altar servers, the offertory procession, photographers, tea/coffee makers and of course the very skilled bakers and all those who helped clean up afterwards.
He would also like to add a word of thanks to all those who sent or gave good luck messages and passed on gifts or contributed to the collection as well as those who attended the dance held in his honour and those who helped organise it.
Above all he would like to thank God for his eternal love, support and guidance during his ministry.
He has arrived safely and is settling into retirement very quickly! After a well-earned holiday he will be helping out in his own Parish and neighbouring parishes in his diocese.
On behalf of all your friends, parishioners fellow clergy and religious throughout the Archdiocese of Birmingham we thank God for your ministry to our Archdiocese,
Fr. Pat – thank you and God bless!
(Words in italics from His Grace Archbishop Bernard Longley and Monsignor Timothy Menezes.)
