"Father Brown" Play

Rev. Denis Nakkeeran '20 (Boston) and Anthony Kersting '24 (Madison) argue during a scene in Father Brown.

In Persona Sacerdotis

REV. DENIS NAKKEERAN ‘20, ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON

This year, I had the honor and privilege of playing the eponymous role in the College’s production of Father Brown.

Father Brown is a character created by

G.K. Chesterton, originally published as a series of short stories in which the English Catholic priest helps the police solve various crimes. As a priest,

Fr. Brown has remarkable insight into human nature and sin due to the confessions that he regularly hears and the relationships that he builds with people. Using this knowledge, he is able to place himself in a criminal’s shoes, and determine precisely how a crime was committed, by thinking like a criminal. Yet, because he is a priest, legal reparation is not his primary goal. When he solves a crime, he aims for nothing less than the salvation of the souls involved. More than a detective, Fr. Brown is a true priest. I was incredibly blessed to be ordained a priest just last year. While I had learned much during my time in seminary, the experience of actually being a priest introduced an entirely new dynamic into my life, a dynamic that will continue to develop as I grow in my priestly identity and experience. Playing Fr. Brown, however, gave me a beautiful foretaste of that more experienced priestly life. It was a joy

to play a priest and do priestly things, which although fictional in origin, are very much in line with the reality of the priesthood. By helping a wayward criminal renounce his sinful life, assuring people of God’s fidelity, and demonstrating the thrilling adventure awaiting one who has faith, Fr. Brown taught me the extent to which I can give of myself as a priest and how much God can use a humble servant who simply makes himself available.

I was not simply playing a role—I was living the priesthood on stage. Many of the men in the house felt this also, as they were able to see in the performance not only things a priest does, but an actual priest doing those priestly things; it drew these seminarians closer to the priesthood, instructing and forming them beyond the stage.

For me, the culmination of the experience came at the very end, when after having played the fictional priest, I was able to give the audience my authentic priestly blessing. As Fr. Brown says, “There is in life an element of elfin coincidence which people may perpetually miss.” The role of Fr. Brown this year, both on the stage and beyond, is one small example of the elfin coincidence that God places in our lives to witness to his goodness, and I am happy to have been a part of it. n

The program for Father Brown.

The directors, cast, stage hands, and light crew of Father Brown gather for a photo after their performance on March 26, 2021.

ROMAN ECHOES 25TH YEAR

NAC FACTS

In addition to the play, on Saturday, May 1, 2021 members of the seminary community also put on a “Classical Concert” which featured some of the musicians of the community. The concert featured the works of a number of composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Mozart, and Vivaldi, to name a few. Seminarians showcased their talents on piano, trumpet, violin, cello, saxophone, and guitar.