1937
Fr.
2020
Fr. Bruno Kremp, OFM
February 24, 1937 — January 25, 2020
Franciscan Fr. Bruno Kremp, OFM, devoted his life to his adopted country. But he never forgot his roots. A former pastor, hospital chaplain, retreat master, vocation director, marriage tribunal judge and spiritual director to the Catholic Kolping Society of Cincinnati, Fr. Bruno died Jan. 25 at the age of 82 from complications following surgery. But he is perhaps best known in the community for 40 years of service as a chaplain with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department.
The only child of Oskar and Maria Kremp, he was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on Feb. 24, 1937. Evacuated to foster care during World War II at age 6, he was separated from his family for two years. His grandmother and an uncle died in bombing raids. His father, a quartermaster with his German regiment, was a prisoner of war. In 1949 when visas were available, Bruno’s godfather borrowed money for the Kremps’ passage to America. They left war-ravaged Germany to settle in Cincinnati, where Oskar ran a drugstore and Maria was a seamstress.
After graduating from St. Francis (High School) Seminary, young Bruno entered the Franciscan novitiate in 1956. He professed first vows as a friar in 1957, studied philosophy at Duns Scotus College in Southfield, Mich., professed solemn vows in 1960, earned his theology degree at St. Leonard College in Centerville, Ohio, and was ordained in 1965.
His experience as a priest was vast and varied. Pastoral ministry led him to St. Clement, Corpus Christi, St. George, St. Francis Seraph and St. Bonaventure parishes in Cincinnati. He directed retreats at Friarhurst Retreat Center and was a chaplain at Deaconess and Mercy Western Hills hospitals. He served with the Marriage Tribunal of the Archdiocese from 1985-1994 and as Vocation Director for the Franciscans. He was longtime Praeses for the Catholic Kolping Society of Cincinnati, part of a worldwide organization founded in Germany, dedicated to the betterment of culture, society and church. Always a history buff, he took up genealogy in 1982 and traced his German roots back 12 generations.
Starting in 1967, he ministered with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department as a part-time chaplain, comforting and counseling those touched by violence and tragedy. He later co-chaired a multidenominational police-clergy team that assisted accident victims and police officers. In 1998 he received the Hamilton County Police Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Fr. Bruno retired from the sheriff’s department in 2007 but continued in other active ministry until 2016. He had been living at St. John the Baptist Friary in Sharonville, Ohio, since 1998.
Fr. Bruno was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by relatives in Germany. His body will be received at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, at St. Clement Church, 4536 Vine St. in St. Bernard, Ohio, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Interment at St. Mary Cemetery in St. Bernard follows. Memorials in his honor may be sent to the Franciscans at FriarWorks, 1615 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45202.
The only child of Oskar and Maria Kremp, he was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on Feb. 24, 1937. Evacuated to foster care during World War II at age 6, he was separated from his family for two years. His grandmother and an uncle died in bombing raids. His father, a quartermaster with his German regiment, was a prisoner of war. In 1949 when visas were available, Bruno’s godfather borrowed money for the Kremps’ passage to America. They left war-ravaged Germany to settle in Cincinnati, where Oskar ran a drugstore and Maria was a seamstress.
After graduating from St. Francis (High School) Seminary, young Bruno entered the Franciscan novitiate in 1956. He professed first vows as a friar in 1957, studied philosophy at Duns Scotus College in Southfield, Mich., professed solemn vows in 1960, earned his theology degree at St. Leonard College in Centerville, Ohio, and was ordained in 1965.
His experience as a priest was vast and varied. Pastoral ministry led him to St. Clement, Corpus Christi, St. George, St. Francis Seraph and St. Bonaventure parishes in Cincinnati. He directed retreats at Friarhurst Retreat Center and was a chaplain at Deaconess and Mercy Western Hills hospitals. He served with the Marriage Tribunal of the Archdiocese from 1985-1994 and as Vocation Director for the Franciscans. He was longtime Praeses for the Catholic Kolping Society of Cincinnati, part of a worldwide organization founded in Germany, dedicated to the betterment of culture, society and church. Always a history buff, he took up genealogy in 1982 and traced his German roots back 12 generations.
Starting in 1967, he ministered with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department as a part-time chaplain, comforting and counseling those touched by violence and tragedy. He later co-chaired a multidenominational police-clergy team that assisted accident victims and police officers. In 1998 he received the Hamilton County Police Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Fr. Bruno retired from the sheriff’s department in 2007 but continued in other active ministry until 2016. He had been living at St. John the Baptist Friary in Sharonville, Ohio, since 1998.
Fr. Bruno was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by relatives in Germany. His body will be received at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, at St. Clement Church, 4536 Vine St. in St. Bernard, Ohio, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Interment at St. Mary Cemetery in St. Bernard follows. Memorials in his honor may be sent to the Franciscans at FriarWorks, 1615 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45202.
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