March 9, 1939
Father Charles Braun
Father Braun was born at Aix-la-Chapelle in Alsace-Lorraine on May 29, 1885. After his ordination on June 14, 1908 he worked as a missionary in the Belgian Congo and later in Brazil. After fifteen years and health problems brought on by the primitive conditions in the missions he was advised to give up mission work. In 1923 he came to the Diocese of Wichita and was assigned to Bushton where he remained until his death on March 9, 1939 following an emergency operation at St. Elizabeth’s Mercy Hospital in Hutchinson. At Bushton he made major improvements and built a large rectory. He was noted for his hospitality to his fellow priests and sixty-two priests from around the diocese attended his funeral. At his funeral Mass Father John Bast was the celebrant and Father George Herrman preached the sermon. In his sermon he recounted how Father Braun was once arrested, imprisoned and sentenced to death for being a German spy but as he stood before a firing squad he was recognized by a Belgian officer and released. Father Braun was buried in Bushton.