Father Eugene Brown Reflects on Faith, Travel, and a Lifetime of Gratitude in Incredibly Blessed

Retired Catholic priest Father Eugene Brown presents Incredibly Blessed: The Life Story of a Boy from the Farm, a heartfelt memoir that carries readers from a Minnesota family farm to the far corners of the world. Written after a fall and a sleepless night of prayer at age 88, the book gathers 64 years of priesthood, journeys across 22 countries, and exhibits nearly 300 photographs into a moving testament of gratitude.

The memoir began with an accident. Father Brown fell in church and underwent surgery to stabilize a broken neck. As he recovered in a rehabilitation facility, he chose not to dwell on the fall. Instead, during a long and sleepless night that turned into a night of prayer, he counted the many ways his life has overflowed with blessings. Those reflections became Incredibly Blessed.

Father Brown opens his story on the farm where he grew up and traces the path that led him to the priesthood. He credits the minor seminary for a strong liberal arts foundation and the major seminary for the philosophy degree and the four years of theology that prepared him for ordination in 1960. He went on to serve as pastor of small parishes across western Minnesota and as senior associate, giving 64 years to the Lord and the Church.

The memoir then opens into a vivid travelogue. Father Brown has visited 22 countries, a milestone few people reach outside of travel writers or diplomats. He walked the holy sites that many priests long to see yet never do, including Rome, Lourdes, Assisi, and the Holy Land. He also traveled to places many people have only heard of, from the Galapagos and the Upper Amazon to Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and South Africa, and onward to South Georgia, the Antarctic Peninsula, and Easter Island. He describes each destination in rich detail and brings the journeys to life with many near professional photographs.

The book closes with gratitude. In the Epilogue, Father Brown names the many people he thanks, then he expresses his gratitude to God. “I am grateful to the Lord for the innumerable times I have celebrated Mass, preached His Word, forgiven sins in His name, and commended a faithful soul to Him at journey’s end,” he writes. He ends with hope, trusting that he will one day hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come, share your Master’s joy.” That confidence invites readers to look at their own lives and recognize how richly they, too, have been blessed.

Incredibly Blessed: The Life Story of a Boy from the Farm is now available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FL7CZSTV

About the Author

Father Eugene Brown is a retired priest of the Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota. Ordained in 1960, he served as pastor of small parishes in western Minnesota and as senior associate for a total of 40 years. On vacations and in retirement, he traveled widely, reaching Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, Guatemala, and the Holy Land; Alaska, the Caribbean, and Hawaii; the Galapagos and the Upper Amazon; Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and South Africa; the British and Irish Isles; and South Georgia, Antarctica, and Easter Island. His memoir brings together his life as a pastor with descriptions and photographs from many of these journeys.

Contact Information

Jay Williams

Production Manager

Apex Digital Pro

Contact via E-mail