 Fr. Vincent Browne |
MADISON — A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Wednesday, Oct. 29, at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center for Chaplain Fr. Vincent Browne (Lt. Col. USAF Ret.), a priest of the Diocese of Madison, who died Sunday, Oct. 26.
Bishop Robert C. Morlino was the main celebrant with Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer as homilist.
Father Browne was born June 4, 1927, in County Fermanagh, Ireland, to Thomas and Kathleen Browne. He attended St. Eugene Grade School and Christian Brothers High School in Derry, Ireland. His collegiate studies were at St. Malachy College, Belfast, and philosophy studies at the Foreign Mission Seminary, Galway, Ireland.
Father Browne was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Madison on May 21, 1954, by Bishop William P. O’Connor. He was appointed associate pastor at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Madison, in 1954 and St. Joseph Parish, Madison, in 1955.
He was appointed to the U.S. Air Force as a chaplain in 1959 and served at the following Air Force bases: Shaw, South Carolina; Bunker Hill, Indiana; Greenham Common, England; McCellan, California; Laken-heath, England; and 34-A Seaview Warrenpoint, Ireland.
He retired in 2000 after 49 years as a chaplain.