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William Otterwell Ignatius Brady (February 1, 1899 – October 1, 1961) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Sioux Falls (1939–1956) and Archbishop of Saint Paul (1956–1961).

Biography

William Brady was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, to John J. and Gladys (née Davol) Brady. He had an older brother, Louis, and a younger sister, Leonora. He attended B.M.C. Durfee High School, where he was editor of the yearbook during his senior year. From 1916 to 1918, he attended St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland. He continued his studies at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore (1918–1920) and at the Theological College of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. (1920–1923). While at the Sulpician Seminary, Brady accepted an offer from Archbishop Austin Dowling to join the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul in Minnesota. He was ordained to the priesthood on December 21, 1923, in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Brady earned a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from the Catholic University of America in 1924. In August of that year, he was sent to further his studies in Rome at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, better known as the Angelicum. He later earned his Doctor of Sacred Theology summa cum laude in 1926. Upon his return to Minnesota in 1926, he became a professor of moral and pastoral theology at Saint Paul Seminary.

Brady became rector of the Saint Paul Seminary in 1933 and remained in that position until 1939.

On June 10, 1939, Pope Pius XII appointed Brady bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and he was ordained a bishop on August 24, 1939, by Archbishop John Gregory Murray at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota. On June 16, 1956, Pope Pius XII appointed Bishop Brady Coadjutor Archbishop of St. Paul, Minnesota. Brady succeeded John Gregory Murray as Archbishop of St. Paul upon Murray's death on October 11, 1956, and served in the office until his own death.

Death

Brady was appointed a consulter to the Pontifical Commission of Bishops and the Government of Dioceses for the Second Vatican Council. A little more than one year before the first session of Vatican II, Brady, who seemed to be in good health, left Minnesota to travel to the Vatican to attend a preparatory meeting of the Pontifical Commission to which he had been appointed. His journey began September 21, 1961, and included stops in both Chicago and Paris. On a flight from Paris to Rome on September 23 he was stricken with coronary thrombosis. He did not lose consciousness, and even walked into Salvator Mundi Hospital in Rome, where he had been driven. Several times he rallied and spoke of wanting to get back to work, but over eight days he had four heart attacks, the last of which brought about his death on October 1, 1961.

After a first funeral Mass at the Church of Santa Susanna in Rome, Brady's body was flown back to Minnesota on October 4 and was brought to the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul on October 7. A vigil took place over two days as mourners waited in lines that stretched outside the cathedral and down the front steps. The main funeral Mass took place on October 9 at the Cathedral of St. Paul. The principal celebrant was Archbishop Leo Binz of Dubuque, who two months later was named Brady's successor as Archbishop of St. Paul.

Legacy

Brady was commemorated in the naming of Archbishop Brady High School in West Saint Paul, Minnesota, which has since closed. Following the thread of other archbishops in the Archdiocese, Brady's namesake was given to two buildings at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota). The first of these buildings is Brady Hall, which serves as one of the university's male residence halls. The second is Brady Educational Center, which houses the practice spaces for the musical ensembles of St. Thomas along with classroom space for the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Within the Brady Educational Center is an auditorium commonly used for both musical and dancing performances. Efforts to name a new facility after Brady have fallen short, as his relationship with the priests in the Diocese were not on good terms while he served as Archbishop.

Bishop Brady was instrumental in building the first two Catholic nursing homes in the State of South Dakota. The facility in Milbank, SD which has been operated under the care of the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence bears his name and from its inception has been known as St. William's (Care Center).

References

1. ^ Curtis, Georgina Pell (1961). The American Catholic Who's Who. Vol. XIV. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig.
2. ^ Athans, Mary Christine (2002). "To Work for the Whole People": John Ireland's Seminary in St. Paul. Mahwah: Paulist Press.
3. ^ "Archbishop William Otterwell Brady". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
4. Reardon, James (1952). The Catholic Church in the Diocese of St. Paul. St. Paul, Minnesota: North Central Publishing Company. p. 540.
5. ^ "Archbishop Brady Dies in Rome, Week-end Vigil Begins, Funeral in Cathedral on Monday". The Catholic Bulletin (St. Paul, Minnesota). October 6, 1961.
6. "Crowds Pay Archbishop Brady Homage as Rome, St. Paul Paid Final Tribute to Prelate". The Catholic Bulletin (St. Paul, Minnesota). October 13, 1961.
7. "Archbishop Leo Binz". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
8. "About Us". bradyspace.org.
9. "University of St. Thomas : Residence Life : Residence Halls : Men's Halls : Brady". www.stthomas.edu. Archived from the original on 4 September 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
10. "Brady Educational Center gets an upgrade". September 7, 2012.

v t e Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Ordinaries	Bishops Joseph Crétin Thomas Grace Archbishops John Ireland Austin Dowling John Gregory Murray William O. Brady Leo Binz John Roach Harry Joseph Flynn John Clayton Nienstedt Bernard Hebda Coadjutor archbishop Leo Christopher Byrne
Auxiliary bishops	John Jeremiah Lawler James J. Byrne Leonard Philip Cowley Gerald Francis O'Keefe James P. Shannon John Roach Raymond Alphonse Lucker Paul Vincent Dudley John Francis Kinney William Henry Bullock James Richard Ham Robert James Carlson Joseph Charron Lawrence Welsh Frederick F. Campbell Richard Pates Lee A. Piché Andrew H. Cozzens Joseph Andrew Williams Michael Izen Kevin Kenney
Churches	Cathedrals Cathedral of Saint Paul Basilica of Saint Mary Former cathedrals First Second Third Parishes Guardian Angels Church, Chaska St. Peter's Church, Mendota Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Minneapolis Church of St. Stephen, Minneapolis Church of St. Wenceslaus, New Prague Church of St. Mark, Saint Paul Church of St. Mary, New Trier Church of St. Michael, St. Michael Church of the Assumption, St. Paul Church of St. Agnes, St. Paul Church of St. Bernard, St. Paul Church of St. Casimir, St. Paul St. Mary's Church of the Purification, Marystown Church of the Annunciation, Webster Township Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Wheatland Township Historic Church of St. Hubertus, Chanhassen Chapel Our Lady of Victory Chapel
Education	Higher education St. Catherine University University of St. Thomas Seminaries Saint John Vianney College Seminary Saint Paul Seminary Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary (defunct) High schools Academy of Holy Angels, Richfield Benilde-St. Margaret's, St. Louis Park Bethlehem Academy, Faribault Chesterton Academy, Edina Convent of the Visitation, Mendota Heights Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Minneapolis DeLaSalle High School, Minneapolis Hill-Murray School, Maplewood Holy Family Catholic High School, Victoria Providence Academy, Plymouth Saint Agnes School, St. Paul Saint Thomas Academy, Mendota Heights Totino-Grace High School, Fridley
Priests	Joseph Francis Busch Peter F. Christensen Alexander Christie Jozef Cieminski James Louis Connolly Timothy J. Corbett Donald DeGrood James Albert Duffy Hilary Baumann Hacker Patrick Richard Heffron Patrick J. Hessian Michael Joncas James Keane Kevin Kenney John M. LeVoir James McGolrick Francis Missia Thomas O'Gorman James Michael Reardon James O'Reilly Jakub W.J. Pacholski John A. Ryan Patrick J. Ryan Francis Joseph Schenk Alphonse James Schladweiler John Shanley Paul Sirba John Stariha Tim Vakoc Thomas Anthony Welch
Other	The Catholic Spirit Ninth National Eucharistic Congress
Catholicism portal

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls
Bishops	Martin Marty Thomas O'Gorman Bernard Joseph Mahoney William O. Brady Lambert Anthony Hoch Paul Vincent Dudley Robert James Carlson Paul J. Swain Donald DeGrood
Churches	Cathedral St. Joseph Cathedral Parishes St. Anthony's Church, Hoven St. Peter's Church, Jefferson Holy Rosary Church, Kranzburg Holy Family Church, Mitchell St. Mary's Church, Salem St. Wenceslaus Church, Tabor St. Agnes Church, Vermillion Former St. Ann's Church, Badus St. Placidus Church, Gann Valley Holy Trinity Church, Kimball St. Scholastica Church, Letcher St. Agnes Church, Utica St. John the Baptist, Yankton County St. Mary's Church, Zell
Education	High schools O'Gorman Catholic High School, Sioux Falls Roncalli High School, Aberdeen St. Mary High School, Dell Rapids Affiliated schools St. Joseph's Indian School (K-8, dormitory for HS)
Priests	Thomas Gullickson Donald Joseph Kettler Michel Mulloy
Other	Old St. Wenceslaus Catholic Parish House
Catholicism portal

• 1899 births
• 1961 deaths
• St. Charles College (Maryland) alumni
• St. Mary's Seminary and University alumni
• Catholic University of America alumni
• Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni
• People from Fall River, Massachusetts
• 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States
• Roman Catholic archbishops of Saint Paul
• Roman Catholic bishops of Sioux Falls
• Catholics from Massachusetts
• B.M.C. Durfee High School alumni