Reverend Monsignor Ronald Browne was born in Detroit and attended Mercy College of Detroit, Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, and St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth Township. He earned his licentiate in canon law from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, and a juris doctorate degree in civil law from the Wayne State University Law School in Detroit.
Msgr. Browne was ordained June 29, 1991, in Detroit and celebrated his first Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Detroit.
He served as associate pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Grosse Pointe Woods (1991-92) and National Shrine of the Little Flower Parish in Royal Oak (1992-95) before going to Rome to finish his studies in canon law. Upon returning to Detroit, he served as a weekend assistant at Divine Child Parish in Dearborn and St. Colette Parish in Livonia. Along with serving as a weekend assistant he also worked in the Metropolitan Tribunal and was an assistant professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. In 1999, he was named judicial vicar for the Metropolitan Tribunal, serving in that role until 2001. From 2002-04, he served as associate pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Farmington, and later served as pastor of St. Gerald Parish in Farmington from 2004-09. During that time, he also served on the Priests’ Assignment Board (2003-07) and archdiocesan Presbyteral Council (2008-09).
In 2009, he was sent to the Diocese of Marquette to serve as moderator of the curia for then-Bishop Alexander K. Sample. Upon being named a chaplain to His Holiness (monsignor) by Pope Benedict XVI in 2013, Msgr. Browne returned to the Archdiocese of Detroit, serving as director of the Metropolitan Tribunal and weekend assistant at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish in Beverly Hills (2013-24). In 2015, Msgr. Browne was named judicial vicar for the second time for the Metropolitan Tribunal and continued in that office until July 2024. In addition to those roles, Msgr. Browne was appointed in 2015 by Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron to serve as Secretary to the 2016 Archdiocesan Synod on Evangelization.
Msgr. Browne was assigned to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs as a member of the In Solidum team of priests who pastor Holy Name Parish, Birmingham; Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish, Beverly Hills; St. Owen Parish, Bloomfield Hills; St. Regis Parish, Bloomfield Hills, that form West Maple Family of Parishes, effective July 1, 2024. Also, effective July 1, 2024, Msgr. Browne was assigned to serve as the Regional Moderator for the Northwest Region of the Archdiocese of Detroit.