Monsignor Edward B. Branch, D. Min.

Raised near Howard University in the 1950’s, Ed Branch (and his brother Leslie) were inspired as early as the 6th grade by religious sisters to become priests.  After high school, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, he became the only Black brother in the Xaverian Order class of novices.  Several years later, he left to attend the seminary and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Louisville, KY in 1974.

Branch has devoted much of his priesthood to ministry among Black Catholics: as past president of NBCCC, as faculty member for the Institute for Black Catholic Studies and 25 years as Catholic Chaplain and director of the Lyke House: the Catholic Center at Atlanta University Center.  The latter reflects his gift for the spiritual development of young adult Catholics, which he similarly displayed at Grambling State University and Catholic University of America.

Branch, who earned his D.Min in Religion and Culture from Howard University in 1991, has also served as preaching instructor in the Deacon Formation Program of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. At the nomination of Archbishop Gregory on February 14, 2013, Branch was honored by Pope Benedict XVI with the title, Chaplain to His Holiness, or Monsignor. Now retired, he is focusing his attention on addressing domestic and international poverty.