Archief - Rev. Alfred Bown fonds

Alfred Bown (1908-1969), Catholic priest, was born at Bell Island, Conception Bay, Newfoundland, on 5 May 1908, the son of Mary Loretta (Giovanetti) and Thomas A. Bown. Bown died at Via Coeli, Albuquerque, New Mexico on 2 August 1969 and was buried in the Priests' Plot at Via Coeli Monastery.

Bown was educated at the parish school on Bell Island and at Holy Cross School, St. John's. He transferred to St. Bonaventure's College, St. John's (1925-28). Following graduation from St. Bonaventure's he attended St. Augustine's Seminary, Toronto, where he completed his course of studies for the priesthood in philosophy and theology (1928-34). Bown was ordained a priest on 29 June 1934 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, St. John's, by Edward Patrick Roche, Archbishop of St. John's.

Rev. Bown was appointed curate in St. Michael's Parish, Bell Island, where he served from 1934-1939, except for one year of temporary replacement appointments in St. Joseph's Parish (Merasheen), Sacred Heart Parish (Oderin), and Sacred Heart Parish (Marystown). In 1939 he was given leave for medical treatment in Quebec. When Rev. Bown returned to Newfoundland he was assigned as a curate on staff in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Parish, St. John's, where he remained until 1950, when ill health again forced him to retire.

Rev. Bown remained in Quebec for treatment from 1950-1959. In 1959 he returned to St. John's for a short respite. In 1960 he was transferred to Via Coeli, Albuquerque, New Mexico, for further medical care where he remained in a convalescent home for priests until his death in 1969.