Remembering a local pastor

Father Simon P. Brzozowski, Jr., MSF brought kind sunshine and passion to those whom he came in contact with during his time as pastor.

Father Simon passed the away at the age 99, but the memory of his kindness towards others will not be forgotten anytime soon.

A family member of Father Simon talked about the late pastor, but asked the Gonzales Inquirer to remain unnamed in this article.

The family member said Father Simon was “loved” by everyone he had contact with and mentioned photos on the funeral home’s website of how happy he was.

“You would see him with everyone, this grand smile, he was always just so happy to be around people. That was his ministry, to reach out to them,” the family member said.

Father Simon was a Gonzales native and a World War II veteran who served in the United States Army under General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea for MacArthur’s Pacific operations.

After the war, Father Simon would get transferred to Nuremberg, where he was in Army finances and he witnessed the Nuremberg trials.

He later returned to United States and received an honorable discharge with the rank of Master Sergeant.

Father Simon would enter the Holy Family Seminary in St. Louis, Mo., in 1955 and began his nine-year studies to his priesthood.

In June 7, 1964, Father Simon would return to his home parish in Gonzales to have his first Mass at St. James Catholic Church as the first ordained priest at the church.

He served multiple parishes from Nixon, Smiley, New Braunfels, Beeville, Jourdanton, Helena, Charlotte, and Corpus Christi, but his biggest impact would be working at the hospitals as their chaplain.

“I think his biggest impact would have been Little Sisters of the Poor in St. Louis and Little Sisters in Kentucky because he spent so many years there. And then he spent many years as the chaplain at Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi,” the family member said.

The Family Member recalled reading a story recently when Father Simon was in Corpus Christi. When Hurricane Celia hit in 1974, he was protecting people from broken windows caused by Celia and “helping them out of hallways.”

“He served in the hospital for probably half of his priesthood. So I think he just felt touched by those people who were sick or poor. And he reached out to them and was easy to talk to” the family member said.

Father Simon later in life, in 1979, would travel to Philadelphia for Pope John Paul II’s Mass, and while in Kentucky would meet Mel Gibson and was shown a screening of the “Passion of the Christ”, the family member said.

Father Simon passed away Feb. 18, 2023, and his family will miss him, but know he’s in better place in heavean.

“We're sad, but there's joy in our heart as well, because we have a strong faith. And we know that he's in heaven,” the family member said.