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| | Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt
Fourth Bishop of Greensburg
(2004-Present)  Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt, the Diocese of Greensburg's fourth bishop, feels that experiences gained during his 34-year journey in the priesthood have prepared him to shepherd his new flock.
With experience that runs the gamut from Vatican diplomat to diocesan administrator to parish priest, Bishop Brandt brings to his new post a breadth of service that is expected to serve the Catholic community well. Yet despite his experiences, he admits he begins his new role with some trepidation, hoping that he is up to the task of leadership in a church that has faced a series of challenges in recent years. Always fascinated by priests, Bishop Brandt remembers playing one as a child. Using his small workbench as an altar, Necco wafers as hosts and one of his father's architectural manuals as the lectionary, he would play the role of priest and one of his two sisters would be his altar server during a make-believe Mass.
"I had known many wonderful priests," Bishop Brandt said, recalling the Capuchin pastors that served both Christ the King Parish in his native Dunbar, W.Va., and Sacred Heart Parish in Charleston, W.Va.
"They were dedicated, good priests who were often guests at our home."
With good clergy role models and the faith of his family as a guide, it was natural to consider the priesthood, said the 64-year-old Bishop Brandt.
After completing eighth grade at St. John the Evangelist School in Girard, Pa., he enrolled at the Pontifical College, Josephinum, Columbus, Ohio, where he completed his high school and undergraduate education. (Bishop Brandt moved with his parents and two sisters from West Virginia to Lake City, near Erie, when he was a boy.)
"The education we received in those days had a national reputation for its quality. I may never have gone to Europe without the preparation I received (at Josephinum)."
Well-prepared for the next step, Bishop Brandt then enrolled at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, where he earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1966. The faculties of philosophy and theology were run by the Jesuits. The university's academics were also of high quality, commented the bishop, explaining that it was while at the university that he first met Erie Bishop Donald W. Trautman, who was then a fellow student.
"Bishop Trautman was a brilliant student who seemed to know everything except for the one thing the rest of us knew (about him) – he would one day be a bishop," Bishop Brandt said warmly of the man with whom he has served for many years.
Although he had been on the path to the priesthood, it was not until he had completed his studies at Innsbruck that Bishop Brandt made the final commitment to enter the seminary, the North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, for theological studies. Formed in the theology of the Second Vatican Council, Bishop Brandt explained that many of his professors in Rome were advisers to the council.
He was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 19, 1969, at St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.
"I was 30 when I was ordained. It was a long process of maturation. I'm grateful to have gone through that process of discernment."
Somewhat ahead of his time as a late vocation, Bishop Brandt said he believes the fact that later vocations have become more commonplace is a good thing.
"Those who are later vocations bring a maturity and stability to the priesthood. Having been in other professions, they bring other skills and knowledge to the role.
"It requires some sacrifice to go back and retool yourself. I have great respect for those who make the decision."
It was while a student in Rome that Bishop Brandt acquired a love of cooking, although he admits he hates to clean up. Anyone who has studied in Italy becomes interested in cooking, he says with a laugh, noting that good food can bring people together. "Food is not political, it's not divisive, it's celebratory."
Enjoyment of food does, however, have a price, he adds, noting that he works out three times a week at the local YMCA in Erie.
"I've always worked out. Seeing other people in equal pain is a great support."
Also a graduate of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the Holy See's school for Vatican diplomats, Bishop Brandt has served in diplomatic positions in Madagascar, Germany, Ecuador and Algeria. He earned a doctorate in canon law at the Lateran University in Rome in 1983 and has also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and the University of Florence, Italy.
Through his travels and other experiences, he's found a simple unifying force among Catholics. "Faith is the common denominator and you need to speak about faith in terms that people understand. I've met people from around the world, but I haven't yet met someone with whom I did not have something in common."
That ability to connect with people served him well in the early 1980s, when he returned to Erie and was appointed assistant chancellor and resident chaplain of Gannondale Residential Center for Girls. The latter role gave him an opportunity to reach out to 13- to-18-year-old girls in crises. This ability was exhibited again in 1998 when he was appointed a parish priest at St. Hedwig, a working-class parish in one of Erie's poorest neighborhoods.
"You have to capture the people's hearts. The head follows the heart in human affairs."
Critical to this is the ability to be a credible witness. If you use "church speak," which people don't understand, you are not a credible witness. "Catholics can be far too wordy."
The job of a preacher is to teach, pulling from images that resonate with people. You must use examples from daily life to translate theology, said Bishop Brandt, a highly respected homilist, who sees his mother as his toughest critic.
"My mother times my homilies," he said with a chuckle.
As shepherd of the diocese's 188,000 Catholics, Bishop Brandt plans to move out from behind his desk to reach out to his flock. "The role of a bishop is to teach, to shepherd and to sanctify." Although administration is important and part of the responsibility of a bishop, he said he does not want the duties of administration to make his other roles subservient.
"You have to be out and among the people. You must know where they are. … You have to find out why they do what they do. You have to let them speak and tell you their story."
Recognizing that difficult decisions will be inevitable during his tenure, Bishop Brandt said he admires Bishop Trautman because he does not hold grudges even against his harshest critics. "He forgives," he said of Bishop Trautman. "That's a wonderful gift."
Prayer is important in the life of both a priest and a bishop, he continued. "That's the touchstone. If you're not in touch with God, how can you pass along the faith?"
The faith he has lived for 64 years takes on new meaning today. Looking toward installation day during an interview on a cold, snowy, January day in Erie, Bishop Brandt considered what his feelings might be on March 4.
It will be an emotional day, he said, for him and his family and friends. His mother, who became a single parent after the death of her husband, will have a front-row seat. She will watch her son become a bishop; the son to whom she wrote once or twice a week for the more than 15 years he was abroad.
"It is a great, great gift to have my mother with me. She was always a woman of deep faith," he said of the former secretary at Erie's Mercyhurst Prep who will be 96 on April 25. "She worked hard to keep the family together. I'm hoping that for her this (installation) will be a culmination, the Lord's answer to her prayers. I hope that she feels that all of her sacrifices were worth it."
Clearly a man of deep family and friendship ties, Bishop Brandt said there's always something special about family and early friendships.
"You have no social status. … People accept you for who you are."
As a bishop, things will be somewhat different. Just as on the day last December when he received the call from the papal nuncio to tell him of his appointment, there may be days when Bishop Brandt is very much aware of the magnitude of his responsibilities. In those moments, he said he will remind himself "God's will will never take you where his grace can't keep you. There will be grace that comes with the office, which I will need." 
 
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St.
Joseph Church