BRIDGEPORT—Father Philip Walter Brady passed away on Tuesday, June 22, 2022. He was 103 years of age.
“Father Brady had a remarkable 79-year priesthood and is still remembered fondly by many in our diocese, particularly his many friends at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Shelton. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Father Brady and for the consolation of his family,” said Bishop Frank J. Caggiano.
Philip Brady was born in Rochester, N.Y., on September 16, 1918, the son of Philip and Dorothy Brady. He was baptized on September 28, 1918.
Father Brady attended St. Mark’s School and Little Seminary, both in Buffalo, N.Y. Upon finishing high school in 1936, he continued his studies at St. Columban’s Preparatory Seminary in Silver Creek, N.Y. and later studied theology at St. Columban’s Seminary in St. Columbans, Nebraska.
Father Brady was ordained to the priesthood on December 18, 1943, by Most Reverend J. A. Duffy in Buffalo, N.Y. as a member of the Foreign Missionary Society of St. Columban.
Following his ordination, his first assignment was as a parish priest in the Diocese of Buffalo. Next, he was transferred to the Society’s seminary in Milton Massachusetts. For the next 13 years, he was assigned to promotion work, which involved encouraging vocations and raising funds for the Columban Fathers.
Father did this work in New England where, over a three-year period, he helped out at St.Mary Church in Milford. The Society then assigned him to teach in their seminary high school in Silver Creek, N.Y.
In 1960, he requested release from his oath of membership in the Foreign Missionary Society of St. Columban and began a three-year trial assignment in the Diocese of Bridgeport. During those years, he served at St. Mary Church in Greenwich, St. Mary High School and St.Joseph Hospital in Stamford. In 1963, he was incardinated in the Diocese of Bridgeport. Also in 1963, Father Brady received a master’s of science in Education from Canisius College in Buffalo.
After his incardination, Father Brady continued in his assignment as spiritual director and faculty member at St. Mary Girls High School, residing at St. Paul Church in the Glenville section of Greenwich. In 1968, Bishop Walter Curtis appointed him as the second pastor of St. Margaret Mary Church in Shelton where he served until his retirement in 1993.
Father Brady served as a member of the Priests’ Council from 1975-1977.
Upon retirement, Father Brady moved to New Hampshire, where he assisted part-time at St.Joseph Church in Woodsville until 2005. At that time, due to health concerns, he moved to Yucca, Valley, California and received permission to assist at local parishes in the Diocese of San Bernardino. In 2010, he returned to the Buffalo area and moved into a senior living community in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Father Brady’s Funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, September 17, 2022, at Nativity of OurLord Church in Orchard Park, N.Y.
