Société des Missions Africaines –Province d’Irlande
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né le 20 février 1905 dans le diocèse de Down & Connor, Irlande serment permanent le 2 juillet 1930 prêtre le 10 juin 1934 décédé le 3 septembre 1994 |
1934-1941 vicariat de la Nigeria occidentale décédé à Newry, Irlande, le 3 septembre 1994, |
Father Patrick Gerard BRANIFF (1905 – 1994)
Patrick Braniff was born in Belfast (the family address was 20 Holland Gardens), in the parish of St. Columcille, in the diocese of Down and Connor, on 20 February 1905. He died at Daisy Hill hospital, Newry, Co Down, on 3 September 1994.
Born in East Belfast, Patrick (Paddy) was the seventh of twelve children. His father was a foreman carpenter who later became a building contractor. After attending St. Joseph’s primary school on the Upper Newtownards Road Paddy moved on to St. Patrick’s Christian Brothers school (1917 1919) and C.B.S. Harding Street (1919 1920). In 1920 his mother died and family circumstances required that Paddy should leave school to serve his time as a carpenter. Paddy’s interest in missionary priesthood had already been awakened through contact with Bill Fegan, a first cousin by marriage, who was a seminarian with the Society (Bill was ordained in 1929). However the possibility of pursuing a missionary vocation now seemed remote. In 1926, when the Society’s seminary was transferred from Cork to Dromantine, Co Down, many renovations had to be made. Paddy’s father was given the contract and Paddy, who by then had served his time as a carpenter, was placed in charge of the work. Contact with the S.M.A. priests revived Paddy’s interest in priesthood and by this time family circumstances had improved. Paddy began his preparatory year with the Society at the Sacred Heart college, Ballinafad, Co Mayo, in 1927. A year later he joined the Society’s novitiate and house of philosophy at Kilcolgan, Co Galway. In 1930 he commenced his study of theology in the Society’s seminary, at Dromantine. Paddy was received as a member of the Society on 2 July 1930. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Edward Mulhern, of Dromore diocese, in St. Colman’s cathedral, Newry, on 10 June 1934. He was one of a group of seventeen ordained on that day.
After ordination Paddy was appointed to the vicariate of Western Nigeria, the first mission in Nigeria to be entrusted to the Society when Thomas Broderick was nominated vicar apostolic in 1918. On his arrival in Africa in November 1934 Leo Hale Taylor, who had become vicar apostolic the previous February, appointed Paddy to Ubiaja. Here, under the guidance of John Mahon, Paddy studied the local language, learned about African culture and undertook supervised pastoral work. After six months, having passed his language examination and received faculties to hear confessions, he was transferred to Asaba, then the headquarters of the vicariate, as assistant to a senior Alsatian missionary, Eugene Strub. Here Paddy got the first of many opportunities to demonstrate his expertise as a builder. The task in hand was to build a new cathedral church and he designed it from the plans of his own St. Colmcille’s church in Belfast. The foundation stone for St. Joseph’s cathedral, Asaba, was laid in August 1936 and the building was completed in 1939.
In August 1938 Paddy went to Ireland on his first home leave. On his return to the vicariate, a year later, he was posted to Okene mission where he was to spend two years. Okene was one of the four residential stations of Lokoja district, the others being Lokoja itself, Kabba and Oka. There was a catholic community of some 500 members and 1,000 catechumens attached to Okene and its sixteen secondary stations. Next he spent a short period in Ogwashi Uku mission, which had been established in 1905 and was situated some 17 miles from Asaba. In November 1942 Paddy ministry took a new course when he became one of a number of S.M.A. missionaries who volunteered as chaplains to the West African Brigade. The military authorities had sought chaplains for these soldiers, who were mostly Nigerians and Ghanaians, and the missionary bishops had no hesitation in seeking volunteers. Paddy saw service with the West African Brigade in India and Burma until his demobilisation in 1946.
In 1947 Paddy was transferred south to the vicariate of Lagos where he was to service continuously until his retirement in 1982. Here he was engaged in many building projects which gained for him an enviable reputation. Among the structures in Lagos archdiocese which bear the stamp of his many talents are: St. Leo’s teacher training college, Abeokuta; Church of the Assumption, Falomo; St. Anthony’s Surulere and St. Joseph the Worker in Meko. But Paddy’s ministry was by no means confined to building. Although much of his time was spent in the latter work, Paddy was an active pastor of souls in many missions, including Abeokuta, Holy Cross, Ikoyi Falomo, Ebute Metta, Surrulere, and Meku. Reflecting on his life in old age, he was to say that the happiest period of his time in Africa began in December 1966 when he became the first resident priest in Meko, a small place forty five miles from Abeokuta. The people of Meko admired him so much that he became a local Chief and was installed as the Gboba niyi of Imeko (a title which means ‘the kind man who looked after the people’). In 1974 the first priest from Meku was ordained, Emmanuel Babatunde, an event which gave Paddy the greatest joy.
Paddy was finally compelled to leave Africa in 1982 when he sustained a stroke. Two years later he celebrated the golden jubilee of his ordination with eight surviving members of his class. He spent the remaining years of his long life (1982 1994) in Dromantine. In June 1994 he celebrated the diamond jubilee of his ordination. In the final months, in weak health, he was admitted to the St. John of God nursing home, Courtney Hill, Newry. Paddy was well prepared for death, even to the extent of having the headstone of his grave erected in advance with only the date missing. His funeral Mass, celebrated in Dromantine chapel, was attended by a large concourse of Society members, family and friends, some of whom travelled from overseas. In the Offertory procession symbols of Paddy’s life’s journey were brought to the altar, including carpenter’s tools, a fiddle (Paddy came from a musical family and played the fiddle), beads (symbol of his Chieftaincy), breviary and bread and wine (symbols of his priesthood).
He is buried in the cemetery of the Holy Family church, Tyconnette, Crossgar, Co Down.