Camden Catholic mourns the loss of former faculty member, principal and Hall of Fame inductee Monsignor William Brennan, who entered eternal rest on August 15, on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, surrounded by his loving family. Monsignor spent many years of his service to the Lord helping to guide hundreds of Camden Catholic students and many faculty members, through his teaching, leadership and mentorship.
His viewing is on Thursday August 22, 2024 from 4 to 7pm and Friday August 23rd from 9 to 9:30am in Holy Eucharist RC Church 344 Kresson Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034. Mass of Jesus Christ the High Priest will follow at 10am. Click here for the full obituary.
Msgr. William P. Brennan was born on July 8, 1936 in Staten Island, NY. And that piece of New York never left his heart. Because of his Irish parents’ strong faith, the wholesome environment they provided for Bill and his siblings, and his own personal love for his faith and his Church, Bill was drawn to the priesthood and began his studies at Saint Mary’s College in Kentucky. He completed his theological education at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, NJ. Staten Island’s loss was Camden’s gain when he was ordained a priest for the diocese of Camden on May 25, 1963 at the age of twenty-six.
Msgr. Brennan spent his first year of priesthood in parish ministry and earning a Master of Arts Degree in American History from Villanova University. In the fall of 1964 he was assigned to teach history and religion at Gloucester Catholic High School. Three years later in 1969 he was assigned to the faculty of Camden Catholic High School to teach those same subjects. The Education Office of the Diocese recognized the talents and leadership qualities of Msgr.’s ministry in education, and the Bishop appointed him the principal of Gloucester Catholic High School in the summer of 1973. Having left a positive legacy at Gloucester Catholic after only three years, Camden Catholic High School became the beneficiary of Msgr. Brennan’s skills as a high school administrator. He served as principal here from 1976 to 1984, eight remarkable years in Camden Catholic’s history.
At Camden Catholic then Father Brennan was highly respected by both faculty and students. Both appreciated his openness to innovations in the classroom. He was a strong and visible supporter of Camden Catholic’s athletic program; he was attentive to the physical needs of the school building and the outside property. He supported his faculty and was friendly toward them but his professional expectations were high and he would let you know where he stood at all times. One colleague at that time writes “He was a wonderful principal. He was intelligent, perceptive, and practical…he had an eye to the future.” He was at the forefront of computer education and early on realized the need to develop computer literacy. And so, with Mrs. Pat Jordan from the Mathematics Department he started computer programming at Camden Catholic with no computers but with an end-of-the-year class trip to Glassboro State College where the students were permitted to use the college’s main frame keypunch card reader so the students could see if their programs worked. This was the beginning of the dizzying world of technology that our students take for granted today.
His successful educational philosophy had its roots in the advice he received from a nun-educator when he first started teaching. She told him “you don’t teach English, History, or Religion, you teach people. If you expect good things from your students, you are more than likely going to get good things back. Learning to know your students is more important sometimes than knowing your subject matter, but preparing conscientiously for class shows genuine respect for your students.”
Msgr. Brennan applies this advice to everything he does in ministry. “Whether as a teacher, principal, or pastor, you deal with people and getting to know them is so important,” Msgr. says. “Preparing a class, preparing for a school meeting, preparing a homily is important, because you are showing that you care, you are showing respect.”
After leaving the education ministry in 1984, Msgr. Brennan was named pastor of Incarnation Parish in Mantua, NJ where he served for thirteen years. In 1997 he was appointed pastor at Saint Pius X Parish (now Holy Eucharist Parish) in Cherry Hill, and in 2009, after twelve years in Cherry Hill he was appointed pastor at Christ the King Parish in Haddonfield, NJ and retired from there on June 30, 2012 completing forty-nine years of active ministry for the Diocese of Camden.
In addition to all of his education and pastoral ministry, Msgr. Brennan served as the Dean of Camden North Deanery, he was a member and chairman of the Priest Personnel Board, a member of the Presbyteral Council, a member of the College of consultors, and a member of the diocesan Finance Council.