Path to the Priesthood: Fr. Stephen Braun

Fr. Stephen Braun was born and grew up in Houston, Texas, and became acquainted with the Traditional Latin Mass as a youth at Annunciation Catholic Church in downtown Houston, and at Saint Mary Cathedral in Austin, Texas, during his college years at the University of Texas at Austin.

Though he had been majoring in biology, expecting to apply to medical school, towards the end of his university studies he felt a nagging and persistent call drawing him to consider a priestly vocation. He first visited Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in 2009, and was very impressed, but wanted to spend some time working and discerning before entering.

Though he did not grow up in a Fraternity apostolate, a new parish opened up in his area in September 2011, the same week that he entered the seminary in Nebraska, where he has spent the past seven years in priestly formation. When home on breaks and assignments, he has enjoyed having the opportunity to see his parish community in Houston continue to grow, and was able to preach his first sermon there on Easter Sunday in 2017.

Fr. Braun celebrated a series of first Masses around the state of Texas in June and will head to his first assignment this month.