Throughout most of his life, Father John Brandes loved spending time outdoors, especially at a family cabin in northern Minnesota and in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The priest who considered wooded regions of northern Minnesota his “happy place” died Jan. 10 at age 96.
His niece, Monica Shearon, recalled trips up north with him starting during her childhood and extending into her adult years. She looked forward to those trips, taking advantage of opportunities to spend time with her beloved uncle.
“I was very, very close to my Uncle John,” said Shearon, 60, a mother of five adopted children who belongs to Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis. “He was definitely like a second father to me.”
She recalled one time as a young adult when she was having a tough time while living in Europe. “I remember having kind of a spiritual crisis and coming to him and saying, ‘I’m just really struggling,’” she said. “And, he just literally stopped everything he was doing and created a one-day retreat for me, which ended in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It was so beautiful. I had never been to adoration, I never had that experience.”
As far back as she can remember, Father Brandes organized annual canoe trips to the Boundary Waters. A rite of passage for all of his nieces and nephews was “a free trip to the Boundary Waters with Uncle John” right after graduation from high school, Shearon recalled, with her trip coming in 1980 after her senior year at Hill-Murray High School in Maplewood. It was clear to everyone in the family that “Uncle John” loved the outdoors.
“It was his happy place,” Shearon said. “Anything in nature. He knew all the birds, he knew all the trees. He could remember all the paths to get through different portages (in the BWCA).”
Father Brandes grew up in north Minneapolis and was ordained to the priesthood in 1951. His first assignment was at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, where he served from 1951 to 1966. After that, he became the founding pastor of St. Rita in Cottage Grove, where he served from 1966-72. Other parishes where he served include St. Mark in St. Paul (1972-86), St. William in Fridley (1987-93) and St. Boniface in northeast Minneapolis (2004-12, when he retired). He also spent 11 years in Guatamala at San Lucas Toliman, a mission parish of the Diocese of New Ulm.
In recent years, he served as a chaplain at Catholic Eldercare in northeast Minneapolis where he lived. He stepped down from that role in 2020, but continued to spend time with his brother Ray, who lived in the same building but eventually moved to the full nursing care unit in an adjacent building. In 2021, when reflecting on the 70th anniversary of his ordination, Father Brandes said, “I’ve always loved being a priest.”
In addition to his priestly ministry, Father Brandes was politically active, Shearon noted. He took part in protests against the manufacture of certain military weapons, and once “climbed a fence” at a Honeywell plant in the Twin Cities to engage in an act of peaceful protest.
There was one problem: Shearon’s dad — Father Brandes’ brother-in-law — worked there.
“My dad is an electrical engineer for Honeywell, and John is getting arrested for climbing the fence — I always found that funny,” Shearon said. “And, it was really interesting how they were each other’s best friend. But, they sat in different political arenas and still loved each other and respected each other.”
The funeral Mass for Father Brandes will be 11 a.m. Jan. 23 at St. Boniface in northeast Minneapolis. A vigil will be Jan. 22 from 4-8 p.m., also at St. Boniface. Interment will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery in south Minneapolis.
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