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A vicar is quite literally one who is in the service of another. And that is exactly how Father David A. Brant perceives his new job as Parochial Vicar at St. James. His first job is to help Father Ryan with liturgies and sacraments but, as Father Brant explains, he interprets his job more broadly than that. As parochial vicar, he sees his role to serve the entire parish, to try to be a help to all. In fact, he points out that his position, which was at one time called “assistant pastor”, was renamed to convey the need for service to all of the people of the parish.

Father Brant is quick to explain that he’s “not coming in as a bright, young 30-year-old”. Rather, he’s an old friend to St. James Cathedral and one who has known Father Ryan since their days together at St. Edward’s Seminary. His roots in the cathedral go back to those days when Father Brant was a member of the seminary choir and the choir would come here during Holy Week to sing at Tenebrae and on Good Friday. Father Brant was ordained in the cathedral in 1965 by Archbishop Thomas A. Connolly. “I’m glad to be back in Seattle,“ Father Brant said, “I like living in the city and going to the many music and visual art events.”

His preference is visual art and he quickly lined the walls of his rooms with an extensive collection, including two of his father’s sketches. Mr. Brant was an architect in Dayton, Ohio, and of course did his own design sketches. Father Brant also dabbles in paint and pencil and design. He designed his own chalice and the chalices of several of his priest friends.

Father Brant has a long history of service to the Archdiocese. He has served as associate pastor or parochial vicar at St. Pius X in Mountlake Terrace, St. Frances Cabrini in Tacoma, and Holy Trinity in Bremerton, and as pastor at St. Charles in Burlington, St. Mary in Marysville, and Holy Rosary in West Seattle. For the past two years, he has served as Administrator of Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish in Port Angeles.

Arriving at St. James, Father Brant immediately took up residence in the rectory, and is now learning his way around the parish. We can look forward to meeting and working with our new parochial vicar throughout the coming months.

Mary Bourguignon is a parishioner and religious education volunteer at St. James Cathedral.