Please remember in your prayers Monsignor J. Patrick Browne, who died this morning following a brief illness at the age of 84.
Pat was born on July 31, 1941, in Castroville, California to Patrick and Bridget (née McCarthy) Browne, both natives of County Kerry, Ireland. He spent his formative years in Sunnyvale, California, before entering St. Patrick’s Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 31, 1967, and served the people of God faithfully for nearly fifty-eight years.
Pat was ordained for the Archdiocese of San Francisco and was released for ministry with the Society of San Sulpice. As a Sulpician, he taught at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, and later served as both faculty and graduate student at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned his Ph.D. in sociology. He then served as Vice Rector and faculty at St. Patrick’s Seminary in San Francisco.
In the Diocese of San Jose, he first served the faithful at Santa Teresa Parish in San Jose as Associate Pastor and later as Pastor. He went on to serve as Pastor at St. Lucy Parish in Campbell, St. Patrick Proto-Cathedral, and the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph in downtown San Jose. In recognition of his dedicated service, Saint John Paul II honored him with the title of Monsignor, Prelate of Honor, on June 3, 2000.
Pat was a deeply intelligent man who recognized and appreciated that quality in others, though he never required it. A master conversationalist, he relished spirited discussion, a thoughtfully prepared meal, an irreverent joke and a fine glass of bourbon. It would be nearly impossible to find someone more well-read than Pat and he could contribute with equal ease to subjects as varied as the political climate and the San Francisco Giants’ pitching deficiencies.
He became an excellent chef and was happy to share techniques and recipes, even with those more interested in the results than the process. A talented baseball player in his youth, he carried his passion for sports throughout his life, faithfully cheering on Bay Area professional teams and closely following the PGA Tour. In his later decades, he was rarely without the steady companionship of a devoted succession of German Shepherds, whose watchful loyalty matched his own.
Pat was many things in his lifetime — son, student, teacher, cousin, and friend — but at his core he was, fundamentally, a priest. He was a man called and called again to place his considerable gifts in service of others, drawing them nearer to God and to the sacred work of social justice.
Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated on March 28, 2026 at 12:00 pm at Saint Simon Parish in Los Altos, CA followed by a reception. Burial to follow at 2:30 pm at Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.