Father Brennan Maiers, OSB

Monk of Saint John's Abbey
Collegeville, Minnesota

Born: April 27, 1936

Professed: July 11, 1957

Ordained: June 1, 1963

Died: July 22, 2022

Charles Joseph Maiers was the 14th of 17 children born to Henry and Grace (McGraw) Maiers on April 27, 1936, in Stewart, Minnesota. His father managed the family farm, and his mother was a busy homemaker. Charles completed his early education at Saint Boniface Parish School in Stewart (1942-1950) where Josephite Sisters from Crookston, Minnesota, encouraged him to pursue religious life.

A Passionist priest conducted a retreat at his school, and he and another student asked their parents for permission to enter a Passionist minor seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri. They agreed and Charles entered Mother of Good Counsel Seminary in the fall of 1950. At the end of his first year, Charles felt the seminary was not a good fit for him, and he decided to attend Saint John’s Preparatory School in Collegeville. His sister, Sister Brendan, had entered the novitiate at Saint Benedict’s Monastery, and his older brother, Allan, was attending Saint John’s University.

After graduating from the preparatory school, Charles began philosophy studies at Saint John’s University. In 1956, he entered the novitiate at Saint John’s Abbey, receiving the religious name of Brennan after Saint Brendan, an early Irish monastic. Following his first profession as a Benedictine monk on July 11, 1957, Brother Brennan began studying for the priesthood and made his final monastic profession three years later. He was ordained a priest on June 1, 1963. After ordination, Father Brennan taught English and theology at Saint John’s Preparatory School. During the summer of 1964, he did graduate work at Marquette University in English.

At this time, Father Brennan undertook assignments in pastoral ministry that would take him from central Minnesota to New York, to Duluth, and then back to Collegeville. From 1965-1968, Father Brennan was associate pastor at Saint Joseph Parish, Saint Joseph, Minnesota. He was then assigned to Saint Benedict’s Parish in the Bronx, New York, first as associate pastor, 1968-1970, and then as pastor from 1970-1976. During his time in New York, Father Brennan implemented the reforms of Vatican II by getting lay people involved in parish participation and decision-making. Reflective of his embrace of Vatican II, Father Brennan was quoted in a newspaper at his installation: “He asks parishioners not to call him ‘father’ so that there can be more closeness in church work. ‘It’s time to get rid of the benevolent dictatorship idea and share responsibilities with the parish.”

Following his years at Saint Benedict’s Parish, Father Brennan was appointed pastor at Saint Boniface Parish in Cold Spring, Minnesota, 1976-1983, where he oversaw the building of the new church, the remodeling of the old church as the parish center, construction of a new school, and the planning and remodeling of the Assumption Home.

Father Brennan’s next assignment was pastor of Saint Bernard’s Parish in Saint Paul (1983-1990). During this time, he attended courses in Chicago for community organizing and then worked with other pastors in the city to help with communities-at-large organizations. He started the Neocatechumenate Way community at Saint Bernard’s, which served as a parish within the parish that emphasized the renewal and dedication to Christian formation.

In 1990, Father Brennan received permission for a four-month sabbatical in Rome. During this sabbatical, he toured Europe, the Holy Land, and Ireland, “my second Holy Land.”  From 1990-1996, Father Brennan served as chaplain at Saint Scholastica’s Monastery in Duluth, Minnesota, and completed a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program at Saint Mary’s Medical Center. However, his favorite ministry was with the prisoners in the Duluth Federal Prison Camp where he conducted an RCIA program that challenged the prisoners’ beliefs about Catholicism.

Father Brennan returned to Saint John’s in 1996 and served as chaplain at Saint Raphael’s Convent, Saint Benedict’s Monastery, and Saint Scholastic Convent until 2002. During his retirement, Father Brennan helped in the abbey archives, gave church tours, drove monks to doctor appointments, and served as dispatcher for the abbey car fleet.

Father Brennan was a gentle man of compassion and pastoral alertness.  He is well noted and appreciated in his parish leadership for emphasizing Vatican II renewal in shaping communities of faith.

Father Brennan died on 22 July in the retirement center at Saint John’s Abbey. He is survived by Sisters Grace Marie and Gen Maiers OSB, Saint Benedict’s Monastery, Saint Joseph; Theresa Kuttner, Stewart; Allan Maiers, Hutchinson; and the community of Saint John’s Abbey.

The monks, family, and friends will receive the body on Wednesday, 27 July at 7:00 p.m. and celebrate the Mass of Christian Burial for Father Brennan at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, 28 July, in Saint John’s Abbey and University Church, with interment in the abbey cemetery.

The service will be live-streamed at www.saintjohnsabbey.org/live.