Browne, Rev Michael

 

REV. MICHAEL BROWNE
August 12, 1927

Personal Info

  • Date of Birth: 5 October 1849
  • Place of Birth in Ireland: County Offaly (formerly known as King’s County)
  • Education: Jarlath’s College, Quam, Ireland and St Vincent’s College, Cape Girardeau, Missouri
  • Date of Ordination: 26 April 1879
  • Place of Ordination: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kansas City, Missouri
  • Ordained by: Most Rev. Louis Mary Fink, Bishop for the Diocese of Leavenworth, KS

Diocesan Appointments

  • Rector – Church of the Holy Angels, Hoge Station – 1883 to 1885
  • Pastor – Holy Cross, Pottawatomie County – 1886
  • Pastor – St Patrick’s, Jewell City and Sacred Heart, Esbon – 1886 to 1893
  • Pastor – St Rose of Lima, Great Bend and mission congregations of St Mary’s, Chase; St Patrick’s, Coolidge; Sacred Heart, Dodge City; Holy Trinity, Little River and stations at Garden City and Hoisington – 1894 to 1897
  • Pastor – St Michael’s, Kimeo – 1897 to 1921

The laying of the corner stone for St Michael’s Church was greatly celebrated reading the account published in the Greenleaf Sentinel. On 26 April 1905, Bishop Cunningham of Concordia, assisted by the former pastors of Kimeo and many priests from the surrounding country were present for the celebration. After the ceremonies, all were treated to an eloquent sermon delivered by Fr Maher of Salina on the topic of “The Divine Origin of the Church.” The paper said that the “zealous pastor of St Michael’s, Fr Browne, was heartily congratulated by all on the success of his work and the cheerful cooperation of the Kimeo people.”[iii]

In The Catholic Advance, it was identified that Father Browne “labored faithfully in the vineyard of the Lord during the past 40 years.” At Kimeo, he built St Michael’s church plus a rectory, in 1917 he was made chaplain for the St Joseph’s Home at Abilene which was an industrial school for boys. He was also responsible for building the Home for the Aged at Concordia.

Father Browne was remembered at the special requiem Mass held in Leavenworth for the deceased Bishops and priests of Kansas and Leavenworth diocese under the auspices of the L.D. Purgatorian Society held on 10 November 1927 at St Agnes’ Church in Kansas City, KS.

This Mass, offered annually, is for the benefit of all the deceased Bishops and priests who were engaged in missionary or pastoral work within the geographic limits of Kansas before 1887 and of all those who had faithfully served for the care of souls in the Diocese of Leavenworth.

  • Date of Death: 12 August 1927
  • Place of Death: St Margaret’s Hospital, Kansas City, KS
  • Age of Death: 77
  • Cause of Death: Undisclosed illness of seven months
  • Funeral Held: St Mary’s Church, Clifton, Kansas
  • Celebrant: Father Joseph Browne, nephew and The Right Rev. Francis I. Tief, Bishop of Concordia, preached the sermon
  • Burial: St Michael’s Cemetery in Kimeo, KS

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