Norbertine Spotlight

Conversions are rarely as dramatic as that of Norbert, a nobleman who was thrown from his horse and nearly killed in a thunderstorm before embarking on the life of a penitent.

For some, like Very Rev. Brad Vanden Branden, O. Praem., the calling has simply always been there.

“I think people are always looking for some kind of dramatic conversion story, but for me it really has been a lifelong calling,” he said. “I started talking about being a Norbertine when I was in second grade. And I pretty much never stopped thinking that. This is what I wanted to do, and it happened.”

More than 30 years after first envisioning joining the Norbertines, Fr. Brad continues to embrace his calling as he serves in several key positions at St. Norbert Abbey. In addition to his duties as Prior, he is the director of the Norbertine Center for Spirituality, the rector of St. Norbert Abbey Church, and a leader of multiple choral groups, among other responsibilities.

“As Prior, I’ve certainly learned a heightened sense of responsibility for the confreres and the community as a whole,” he said. “I very much am involved in conversations that help direct our mission and our identity, and other activities that help shape how the community and the abbot want to grow.”

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Fr. Brad’s roots run deep in this Fox River community. He was raised in the countryside on the west side of De Pere and attended grade school, high school and college in De Pere, making him St. Norbert Abbey’s only current hometown Norbertine.

His early faith formation blossomed on the west side of De Pere. He was baptized and celebrated First Communion at St. Boniface, and as a youngster his family often attended Mass at the then New St. Joseph Church. The two churches merged in 1999 to become Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church – an apostolate parish of St. Norbert Abbey – which became his home parish.

“I knew Norbertine priests before I knew diocesan priests,” Fr. Brad said. “As long as I can remember, Norbertines were pastoring at the De Pere parishes. Fr. (James) Baraniak, Fr. (Tim) Shillcox, Fr. (Conrad) Kratz, I knew them all. So I grew up with the Order.”

Fr. Brad attended Marquette School (now Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School) for preschool through eighth grade. From there, he went on to graduate from West De Pere High School. While in high school, he worked part-time for two years in the Abbey kitchen.

“As a person who was considering the Order, even at that age, it let me see the inside of the Abbey and be around more of the Norbertines,” he said. “I remember in middle school, Seamus (Fr. James Neilson, O. Praem.) would sometimes invite me over for evening prayer and to have dinner. So there was a relationship here with the Abbey for a while.”

Fr. Brad remained true to his Catholic faith while attending West De Pere High School. He participated in the Our Lady of Lourdes youth ministry program, served as a catechist for younger students, and sang in the church choir.

Fr. Brad initially planned to attend the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point because of its music program. But at the encouragement of his mother, Joan, he also toured St. Norbert College.

“Having grown up in De Pere I was very aware of St. Norbert College, but I didn’t think at first about going there since it was in town and so close to home,” he said. “But then I went on the tour and met who would become my voice teacher, Dr. Michael Rosewall. That meeting and getting to be on campus helped, so I decided to go there.”

Fr. Brad earned his bachelor’s degree in Music Education from SNC.

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Even when he considered attending UW-Stevens Point, Fr. Brad “always felt this desire to enter the Order.”

“I’ve always felt I’ve had this calling to Religious life,” he added, “and for most of my life it’s been a real certainty in my life.”

The final nudge to join the Order occurred unexpectedly.

In January 2009, he and a friend attended “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

“At that time I was sort of thinking about applying to the Order, but I wasn’t 100 percent sure,” he said. “So I’m in line with my friend and we’re talking – and it’s one of those exhibits where you get an identity of a person as you enter and you become that person throughout your tour of the exhibit.

“So the woman working at the exhibit interrupts our conversation and hands me my boarding pass and says, ‘Here you go, you’re a priest.’ 

“It totally caught me by surprise. I felt it was a little bit more than coincidental. To me, I took that as a sign that, if you’re thinking about it you might as well apply. That was the final thing that convinced me to apply. So I applied and then I entered the Order in August 2010.”

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After nearly six years with the Order, Fr. Brad celebrated his Priestly Ordination on June 4, 2016.

His first assignment as priest took him to Notre Dame Academy, an apostolate school of St. Norbert Abbey, where he served as chaplain. He also assisted at Our Lady of Lourdes on weekends.

“As chaplain, I enjoyed being around the students,” he said. “They certainly give a lot of life. I had done some student teaching at Notre Dame, so I already had some relationships with faculty and staff. So it was nice to come back in that capacity. I felt it was a real invitation to help development in faith.”

After nearly two years at Notre Dame, Fr. Brad was assigned the role of Prior in June 2018 by Abbot Dane Radecki, O. Praem. His primary responsibilities in that capacity are three-fold: general administration in support of the abbot, health care for the Norbertine Community, and personnel matters.

“It was a baptism by fire,” he said, noting he was among the Abbey’s youngest-ever Priors at the age of 32. Steadily, Fr. Brad grew into his Prior role.

“I also feel part of my role as Prior has been to help bridge our community here at the Abbey, which is largely split between an older population and a younger population – we’re sort of missing a middle generation,” he said. “I think that’s one of the reasons why Abbot Dane invited me to be Prior – I think he was looking for that bridge.”

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Fr. Brad credits his high school choir teacher, Laura Rollin, for helping develop his passion for music.

“She was a big reason I was a music major in college,” he said. “She would let me run rehearsals while I was still a student. My senior year, I was able to conduct a couple of the concerts. It really did help instill a love for choral music.”

In high school, he also was involved in West De Pere’s musical production.

“I do like musical theater,” he said. “And just because of the nature of what we do here, I enjoy sacred music, too – songs that stand the test of time.”

Since 2019, Fr. Brad – who generally sings tenor – has been more involved in choral activities at St. Norbert Abbey. “Over the past couple of years, especially, we’ve really heightened the number of choral ensembles we have here,” he said.

Fr. Brad and Fr. Johnathan Turba, O. Praem. co-direct the Abbey Singers of St. Norbert College. In addition, Fr. Brad works with multiple adult singing groups, like the Abbey Festival Choir and Women’s Ensemble. To help coordinate and develop ensembles like these and other musical offerings at the abbey, Abbey organist Devin Atteln also provides invaluable logistical assistance and necessary behind-the-scenes support. “Frankly, I don’t think most of these musical offerings would be able to happen without Devin’s support,” Fr. Brad said.

Fr. Brad also can be seen and heard playing the Abbey’s renowned Casavant organ, often on Atteln’s days off.

“While I don’t do it a lot, since I entered the Order I’ve learned to play the organ,” he said, noting he’s mostly self-taught. “I knew a little piano before that, but not since I’ve been here did I learn to play the organ.”

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When he isn’t fulfilling one of his many responsibilities at the Abbey, Fr. Brad enjoys finding time to pray.

“I enjoy praying at the back of the nave by the St. Augustine stained-glass window,” he said. “I like that image of St. Augustine. And when it’s nice outside I like sitting by our cemetery pondering the community that came before and what they established, and my role in continuing that.”

While looking to the future, he’ll never forget his rural roots.

“I still remember running around the farm fields by my house pretending to be St. Francis of Assisi,” he said. “Instead of a superhero or a pirate or someone a lot of the other boys were pretending to be, I was pretending to be him.”

He also vividly recalls visiting his maternal grandmother’s house on Saturdays to pray the rosary.

“I remember grandma striking a match to light a candle in this darkened room, and people were around me praying,” he said. “I didn’t know the words to the Hail Mary because I was so little. So when they said, ‘Blessed are you among women,’ I thought they were saying, ‘Come on everyone, let’s go swimmin.’

“I was young, but those experiences at my grandma’s house were very impactful. Going back to those earliest memories, I’ve always felt this kind of awareness, this sense that God is calling me to something. I still feel that today.”