Former Saint Meinrad secretary honored by Pope Benedict with highest lay honor

Marilyn Brahm of Ferdinand, Ind., center, was recently recognized by Pope Benedict XVI with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (For the Church and the Pope) award. Pictured with her are, from left, Benedictine Father Adrian Burke, Saint Meinrad’s business manager; Benedictine Archabbot Justin DuVall; Benedictine Father Denis Robinson, the president-rector of Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, and John Wilson, the general manager of Abbey Press. Brahm worked for 40 years as the executive secretary to four president-rectors at Saint Meinrad, including Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein. (Photo courtesy of Saint Meinrad Archabbey)

By Sean Gallagher

In 1971, then-Benedictine Father Daniel M. Buechlein, at the time the new president-rector of Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad, hired Marilyn Brahm to be his secretary.

One of her main duties was to organize the necessary paperwork related to ordinations and the conferral of ministries on seminarians.

“When [Father] Daniel asked me, I said ‘OK,’ ” Brahm recently recalled. “Then he said, ‘OK. You’re going to do the ordination work. Try it for one year, and then we’ll be able to hire somebody else.’ ”

In January, Brahm retired after serving for 40 years as the executive secretary for four president-rectors of the Benedictine seminary in the Tell City Deanery.

“I comment to [Archbishop Buechlein] all the time now, ‘You know, that one year has extended to an awful long year,’ ” Brahm said with a laugh.

Shortly after retiring, Brahm was honored by Pope Benedict XVI with the Pro Ecclesiae et Pontifice (For the Church and the Pope) award—the highest honor that a lay Catholic can receive in the Church. She received it at a recent employee recognition banquet at Saint Meinrad.

“There are so many people who are worthy of that,” Brahm said. “I don’t know about myself. It’s like, ‘Are you deserving of this?’ ”

Brahm may have humbly had her doubts. But not Benedictine Father Denis Robinson, Saint Meinrad’s current president-rector, who is sure that she is deserving.

“It was wonderful to see what we have always known here acknowledged by the greater Church,” Father Denis said. “And that is that she has made such an incredible contribution to the priesthood, to the life of the Church—not only in this country, but around the world. To see that acknowledged universally is a great privilege.”

Archbishop Buechlein described Brahm, who worked with him for 17 years, as “ever faithful and a great assistant.”

Benedictine Archabbot Justin DuVall also praised Brahm for her professionalism and said that, even though she worked behind the scenes, she was deserving of the pontifical award.

“A lot of people who get that are public figures,” he said. “But that’s not the only way that the Church is served. The work she did in organizing the office—and in the Catholic Church, keeping records has always been a big deal—[was done] with an amazing skill.”

In her 40 years of work in the president-rector’s office, Brahm met and worked with many important people in the Church, including many bishops.

But, for her, the seminarians were always the most important.

“You hope that you can inspire just one person,” Brahm said with emotion. “I admire priests. Even now, it makes me so emotional. It’s just like you think, ‘Did you help just one [to go on to ordination]?’ ”

Archabbot Justin, who was one of those seminarians in Brahm’s early years, recalled the jokes, some of which were about her famous beehive hairdo, with which the seminarians would express their regard for Brahm.

“They would kid her and tease her mercilessly,” he said. “The very things that made her so good were the things that we would kid her about. And she took it all so well. I think she knew that that was kind of an expression of affection on the part of the seminarians.”

Father Denis said Brahm’s affection for the seminarians was part of her greater love for the Church.

“That was her whole focus—making sure that everything was done so well and that these men were ordained, and that they served the Church well,” he said. “It was her incredible love for the Church that gave her the tenacity to keep going.” †