On May 12, 1984, Father Dan Brady celebrated his first Mass as a priest, at 5:30 p.m. at St. Edward the Confessor, Richmond.
On May 12, 2024, at 5:30 p.m., he marked his fortieth anniversary to the priesthood by celebrating Mass at St. Michael the Archangel, Glen Allen, where he has been the pastor since 2006.
“It was 40 years to the minute,” said Father Brady. “I wore a plain white chasuble with the same gold and white stole that my mother made for me for that day. To celebrate that way on Mother’s Day was very special.”
A native of Long Island, New York, Father Brady was drawn to serve in the Diocese of Richmond because of what others call his “missionary heart.” After working in Ghana for the Peace Corps from 1977-1980, he felt that his calling was in mission work – ministering to parts of the world that are less Catholic and less affluent than others.
At the time, the western part of the Richmond diocese had many such parishes. Father Brady spent his first years in Appalachia at Our Lady of Nazareth, Roanoke. In 1986, he became pastor of the Cluster Parishes of Church of St. Theresa of Holy Family, Tazewell, and Church of St. Elizabeth of Holy Family, Pocahontas.
That part of the country had been hit hard by industrial downturn, particularly the end of the traditional coal-mining industry. It was also a bastion of Protestantism: in Tazewell, Father Brady estimates that less than 1% of the population was Catholic.
“I loved being in a place where the ministry could be more like the ministry of the Early Church,” said Father Brady. “I knew every one of my parishioners. I knew where they lived. I visited them all. It was very, very personal.”
Now, he has been the pastor of a parish with 3,600 enrolled families in the West End of Henrico for 18 years. And yet, Father Brady says, “We can be missionaries any place we go.”
Spirit of the Early Church
There are two important aspects of St. Michael the Archangel that echo the Early Church: the active participation of laity in the Mass, and the internationalism of its community and ministries.
The sanctuary at St. Michael, built in 2002, is notable for its round construction and centrally placed altar. Deacon Andy Ferguson, who has served at St. Michael since 2003, says that the more contemporary liturgy and worship space reflect the spirit of Vatican II, something Father Brady has always encouraged.
“Because of the structure of our worship space, it allowed him to make the most of the fact that people are really involved in the liturgy,” said Deacon Ferguson. “We have a congregation that joins in singing, joins in praying, joins in the liturgy.”
Father Brady’s collaborative style of leadership, Deacon Ferguson added, extends to his own role in the diaconate.
“He encourages [Deacon David Nemetz and I] to function fully as deacons by preaching,” said Deacon Ferguson. “He gives us the breadth and the depth to explore our preaching. He seeks our input on things liturgical and things theological, but he’s given us a lot of guidance as well.”
Annie McEntee, who has been a St. Michael parishioner since its 1992 opening, said that the pastor and the worship space make the community come together.
“The liturgy is alive. He has energy, and he brings that energy to the liturgy. It’s inclusive,” said McEntee. “He often talks about how our church is round so that we can see and connect with each other.”
From 1999 to 2023, McEntee served as leader of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program at St. Michael. Father Brady was a monthly mainstay at meetings.
“He gave a great session on the Bible,” McEntee recalled. “He would come in with a cart of all these Bibles he had, and he would read the beginning of Genesis in Hebrew.”
“He’s a great teacher,” she added. “He’s the type of person who gives people a chance. He opens doors for people. When they stumble, he doesn’t close the door; he stays with them.”
That attitude, says Deacon David Nemetz, is part of why the community at St. Michael has become so international.
“You probably have heard the word ‘diversity’ associated with our parish,” said Deacon Nemetz. “There are Brazilian, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese and African communities at St. Michael. They feel welcome here.”
The community is not only international in a cultural sense. Its mission is international, too. St. Michael has a twinning relationship with St. John Baptiste in Dos Palais, Haiti. Father Brady has personally been to Dos Palais 13 times, but when asked about the ministry, he had only praise for his congregation.
“We have easily 200 volunteers at our rummage sale to support Haiti,” he said. “It brings in so many people.”
‘He loves his vocation’
Father Brady has a particular devotion to St. Damien of Molokai, popularly known as St. Damien the Leper. The 19th century mission priest contracted leprosy after 11 years of ministering to a leper colony in Hawaii, eventually succumbing to the disease five years later. He was canonized in 2009.
“People ask me, ‘Would you like to go to Rome? Would you like to go to the Holy Land?’” said Father Brady. “Of course, that would be nice. But where I’d really like to go is Molokai and visit the settlement where he ministered.”
The saint’s feast day falls on May 10. Coincidentally – or, Father Brady suggested, perhaps not – it was this date that was selected for his 40th anniversary celebration.
His two brothers, a handful of brother priests, and dozens of parishioners attended the party. Father Jim Arsenault, pastor of St. Elizabeth, Richmond, was one longtime friend who cleared his calendar for the occasion.
“He throws himself into helping those less fortunate,” said Father Arsenault. “It might seem like a strange fit to have a priest from Southwest Virginia come to an affluent and much larger parish in Glen Allen, but it has worked tremendously.”
“He’s got a style that’s warm, welcoming and folksy,” Father Arsenault added. “You can often hear him before you see him – his voice is booming.”
“Father Dan Brady truly loves being a priest,” said Deacon Ferguson. “He loves his vocation, and he loves that he has the opportunity to serve and to live out that vocation every day.”