Rev. Msgr. Brian P. Coleman
Deceased: 2017-06-29
Diocese: GREEN BAY
CSM Graduation Year: 1971
Rev. Monsignor Brian Philip Coleman, 79, Green Bay, died Thursday, June 29, 2017. He was born on October 25, 1937, in Chicago, IL to Joseph P. and Margaret Grace (Sutton) Coleman.
Monsignor graduated from Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, studied Philosophy and Theology at St. Francis Major Seminary, Milwaukee and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from St. Francis Major Seminary in 1960. He received his Bachelors in Divinity Degree from St. Francis Seminary in 1963.
On June 1, 1963, Msgr. Coleman was ordained by Bishop Stanislaus V. Bona at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Green Bay. Following his service as an assistant to Holy Family Parish, Elcho (1963) and St. Therese Parish, Appleton (1963), he became the Chaplain of the Marian Home in Oshkosh and an assistant chaplain at the Newman Center, Oshkosh in September of 1965. In 1968, he was appointed assistant pastor of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral Parish, Green Bay. In 1969, Father Coleman was appointed to Rome, Italy to study canon law at Gregorian University, receiving a Licentiate in Canon Law in 1971.
Following his studies, he was appointed Defender of the Bond in the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal in June of 1971, while in residence at St. Matthew’s Parish. In October of 1974, he was appointed Judge of the Marriage Tribunal. He received the title of Rev. Monsignor and raised to the dignity of Chaplain to His Holiness by Pope Paul VI on August 8, 1975. Msgr. Coleman was appointed Associate Judicial Vicar of Diocesan Tribunal in May of 1981. He became Pastor of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Tisch Mills in July of 1981 while continuing as Associate Judicial Vicar. He was appointed Judicial Vicar of the Diocese of Green Bay in October of 1981 and served in that capacity for 17 years.
After residence at St. Francis Rectory, De Pere, Msgr. served as temporary administrator at St. John Parish, Menasha, where he previously served as weekend help out for 17 years. He also served as temporary administrator of Sacred Heart Parish, Appleton, St. Joseph Parish, Sturgeon Bay and SS. Peter & Paul Parish, Institute, before becoming administrator and pastor of St. Patrick Parish in August of 1999. He retired from St. Patrick Parish on June 30, 2007. During his time as Judicial Vicar, he also served as the presiding judge in Second Instance for the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Msgr. Coleman was appointed Vice Chancellor of the Diocese of Green Bay by Bishop David Zubik in 2005, and Vicar General of the Diocese in January of 2006. He served four terms as a member of the Presbyteral Council and served on the College of Consultors. Msgr. Coleman was very proud of his Irish heritage and often visited Ireland.
Rev. Msgr. Coleman served as the Chaplain of the Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Association from 1965 to 1996 and as a Chaplain of the Green Bay Fire Department beginning in 1968. He was a member of the 3rd and 4th Degree Knights of Columbus and had been a member of the Canon Law Society of America since 1969. On September 2, 2007, Msgr. Coleman celebrated fifty years of profession as a member of the Ancient Observance of the Carmelite Third Order. In 2003, Msgr. Coleman was granted the privilege of wearing the full habit of the Carmelite Order by the Prior General of the Order and his Counsel.
Msgr. Coleman’s survivors include his brother priests; cousins, Margaret “Peggy” (Clyde) Knapp, CA; Paul (Maria) Bessette, IL; the Carmelite Nuns, Denmark; other relatives and many friends and extended family members including the Goldens and the Flanangans of Bear Creek and the Vander Steegs of Green Bay.
He was preceded in death by his parents and an infant brother, many aunts, uncles and cousins.
Reception of the Body will be at 9 a.m. Friday at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 211 N. Maple St. Visitation will follow until 11 a.m. The Funeral Liturgy, expressing our faith and our hope in the promised glory of the Lord’s Resurrection, will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday at the church with Bishop Robert Morneau presiding and Rev. Mark Vander Steeg serving as homilist. Burial will be in Allouez Chapel Mausoleum. Blaney Funeral Home is serving the family.
