A former parishioner of Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria, Father Brendan Augustine Baran, was ordained to the priesthood in the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominicans, last month.
Born June 14, 1980, he grew up in Alexandria, and his family often traveled to visit his grandmother in Washington. As a child, he admired the vocation of the priesthood, but never actively considered it until adulthood.
“It always seemed like a great idea but really abstract, almost like being an astronaut,” he said.
He studied the classics at Brown University in Providence, R.I., where he met Father Henry Bodah, the Catholic chaplain of the university at the time, who helped him to grow in the faith. During his graduate studies in education at Columbia University in New York City, he met several Dominican friars, who would later influence his discernment process. “There were great priests along the way,” said Father Baran.
After moving back to the Washington metro area in 2001, he registered as a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament and immediately became involved in parish life. In addition to daily prayer at the chapel, he became involved in the parish young adult group and soon after started discerning a vocation as a priest.
With the spiritual direction of Father Richard Dyer, then parochial vicar at Blessed Sacrament, and Father J.D. Jaffe, then diocesan vocations director, he started exploring religious vocations in and out of the diocese. “I really owe a lot to the diocese of Arlington,” he said.
Remembering his experiences with the Dominican friars at Columbia, he began considering the Dominican order as a vocation. “The first thing was admitting to myself that I wanted it and (that) it was a real possibility. At that point, I started realizing how intense the call was,” he said.
He reached out to an old friend from Columbia, Father Gabriel Torretta, who had since joined the Dominican Province of St. Joseph. His friend invited him to dinner at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, where they talked more about his vocation. Soon after, he fully embraced the decision to enter the Dominican order.
After donning the Dominican habit, he began his novitiate year at St. Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2016. During this time, he lived a life of prayer and community with the other novices. Following his simple profession Aug. 15, 2017, he began his theological studies at the Dominican House of Studies.
After five years of study, he was ordained a deacon at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington last year.
With more than 100 Dominican concelebrants from across the country, Father Baran and eight other friars were ordained to the priesthood at the basilica last month. The next day, Father Baran celebrated his first Mass at St. John the Beloved Church in McLean. The following week, he returned to Blessed Sacrament Church to celebrate Mass at the church that helped foster his vocation.
Before receiving his first assignment next January, Father Baran will finish his studies at the Dominican House of Studies. “I’m really looking forward to being able to completely throw myself into priestly ministry and helping people meet Christ through the sacraments and through the word.”
