1885 – 1936 (May 12)
Charles Aloysius Branton, son of Owen and Mary Calahan, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 15, 1885. After receiving his early education in Philadelphia’s St. Elizabeth and Our Mother of Sorrows Schools, he attended Saint Joseph’s College High School and Roman Catholic High School. He entered the novitiate at Villanova in July, 1905, and professed first vows on July 5, 1906 in Bryn Mawr Hospital where he had been admitted for a severe case of appendicitis. Solemn Profession occurred on July 7, 1909. He was ordained to the priesthood in Philadelphia’s Cathedral by Archbishop Edmund Prendergast on May 27, 1911. Charles’ brother, Richard, was a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Father Branton was first stationed at Waterford, New York, after which he served on the mission band until 1929. For ten years he served as its rector. He was pastor of Saint Augustine’s in Andover, Massachusetts from 1929 to 1935, when he resigned due to poor health.
Father Branton was 51 when he died in Bryn Mawr Hospital on May 12, 1936, after a long illness. Prior Provincial Mortimer Sullivan celebrated the Solemn Requiem Mass at which Father Branton’s brother was deacon.
Father Charles was a well-known radio speaker and preacher and was greatly sought out for parish missions. He is buried in the Community Cemetery at Villanova.
