Irish priest named chaplain to UK Parliament

Catholic Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, United Kingdom, announced October 28 the appointment of Canon Pat Browne as the Parliamentary Roman Catholic Duty Priest to the Houses of Parliament. The appointment was made following requests from members of the Palace of Westminster for a priest to be available for pastoral care.  Archbishop Vincent Nichols said: “I am very grateful for the assistance of the Speaker John Bercow and the Speaker’s Chaplain, Canon Robert Wright, for their co-operation in arranging this appointment. Canon Pat Browne will be available not only to MPs and Peers but also to the many Catholics who work in the Palace of Westminster.“  Canon Pat Browne will remain as a parish priest at Pimlico, England.

Canon Patrick Browne was born in 1948 in Ireland the eldest child of the late Jack and Lucy Browne. He has four brothers and two sisters. Rev. Brown studied for the priesthood, at the Jesuit Apostolic School at Mungret College Limerick for one year. He spent the next six years at All Hallows College Dublin. He was ordained for the Diocese of Westminster in 1974. While he was at All Hallows he also studied Singing at the College of Music, Dublin, under Maura Tyrrell. 

In 1985 he became private secretary to the late Cardinal Basil Hume, and in 1990 was appointed to Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, Kentish Town, England. After eight and half years in that role he became Vocations Director for the Diocese.

In 2001 he was appointed Parish Priest of Holy Apostles, Pimlico. He also became the first Director of Westminster Diocese's Program for the Permanent Diaconate, a role which he is now leaving. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, former Archbishop of Westminster, appointed Rev. Brown a member of the Westminster Cathedral Chapter of Canons in October 2004.

Source: Archbishops House