Fr. Thomas Brenberger, 84, died at 3:10 p.m. on July 22, 2024 in the infirmary of St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio. He had been in failing health.

Fr. Brenberger was born on October 24, 1939, in Dayton, to William and Electa (Buehler) Brenberger. He entered Brunnerdale, the Congregation's high school seminary near Canton, Ohio, in 1953 and was ordained on June 4, 1966.

After his ordination he served for five years as a missionary to Peru. From 1971-76 he was associate pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Whiting, Ind. Fr. Brenberger served as associate pastor of St. Anthony Church in Falls Church, Va., from 1976-80. In 1980, he was appointed local C.PP.S. director at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He returned to St. Anthony in Falls Church as its pastor from 1982-89.
In 1990, Fr. Brenberger was named a campus minister and instructor of religion at Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind., which is sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.

He returned to parish work in 1993 when he was named pastor of St. Augustine Church in Minster, Ohio. In 2000, he became pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Celina, Ohio, and St. Teresa Church in Rockford, Ohio. In 2010, Fr. Brenberger became senior associate at Marion Catholic Community, Maria Stein, Ohio, where he enjoyed 10 happy years of ministry alongside the pastor, Fr. Gene Schnipke, C.PP.S.

In 2020, Fr. Brenberger retired to St. Charles, and also served as local director. Until recently, when his good health finally failed him, he continued in parish ministry, especially at Immaculate Conception in Celina, St. Teresa in Rockford, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Montezuma, Ohio; and other parishes of the St. Isadore the Farmer family of parishes.

Fr. Brenberger did not willingly give up his ministry. Being a priest was central to his being, and he made it his life's work to continually examine and explore his vocation. He both embraced and studied the priesthood. He was continually trying, with God's help, how best to follow his calling.

In his own words, Fr. Brenberger explains how his understanding changed over the years. In after his ordination, he wrote in his memoirs, he wanted to be a good priest. That struck him as too vague, so in the following years he aspired to be a good administrator, a priest who could manage a staff and the buildings on a church or college campus. He was skilled at that, he noted, but it still was not enough. Finally in his later years, Fr. Brenberger took on the goal of being a "good shepherd" to the people he served. "It's the very model that Jesus used to describe his ministry," he wrote. Those who knew Fr. Brenberger certainly saw that characteristic in him.

While the priesthood was the most important part of his life, it was by no means all of his life. Fr. Brenberger was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hiking, kayaking and swimming. He was fascinated with aviation and earned his pilot's license. He was a skilled model builder.
  He is survived by his sister, Karen (Gary) Reid, Beavercreek; (nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews).

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 26, 2024 at St. Charles Center, with Fr. Barry Fischer C.PP.S. presiding and Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S. homilist. Burial will follow in the Community cemetery.

Viewing will be held in the Parlor at St. Charles Center, on Thursday, July 25, 2024 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the Mass on Friday, July 26, 2024.

A wake service will take place on Thursday, July 25, 2024 in the Assumption Chapel starting at 7 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, United States Province.

Condolences may be left at hogenkampfh.com.