BISHOP EMERITUS S.J. BRZANA, 79, DIES IN BFLO Bishop Stanislaus J. Brzana, 79, a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo who became an auxiliary bishop and then went on to serve as the Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of Ogdensburg in northern New York for 26 years, died March 1, 1997 in Cheektowaga NY after a series of strokes. A native of Buffalo's Polish-American St. Luke's Parish, Bishop Brzana was a pastor in Jamestown when, in 1943, he became an Army chaplain, seeing action on the front lines during the Battle of the Bulge. After his discharge, Father Justin Figas of the Franciscan ROSARY HOUR NETWORK urged him to go on for further studies. When the Buffalo Diocese claimed it was financially unable to fund his graduate work, Father Brzana explained that, as a veteran, Uncle Sam would pay his tuition and expenses. Thanks to the G.I. Bill, Father Brzana earned a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome. After his return, he became officialis (chief judge) of the diocesan Marriage Tribunal. In 1961, Msgr. Brzana was named pastor of Buffalo's Queen of Peace Parish. Pope Paul VI, in 1964, named him an auxiliary bishop, the first Polish- American so honored in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, currently noting its sesquicentennial. In 1968, Bishop Brzana was appointed to head the Diocese of Ogdensburg, where he served until retiring in 1994. He then returned to the Buffalo area, where he assisted Bishop Henry Mansell with confirmations and other assignments. He recently stepped down as a Roman Catholic representative in the continuing official dialogue taking place with the Polish National Catholic Church. A Mass of Christian Burial will be concelebrated at noon Tuesday in St. Mary's Cathedral in Ogdensburg by Cardinal John O'Conner together with bishops and clergy from throughout New York State. Bishop Brzana's body will be returned to St. Joseph's Cathedral in Buffalo, where Cardinal O'Conner (after a 2-9pm wake on Wednesday) again will serve as principal celebrant and homilist at a Mass of Christian Burial Thursday at 10:30am. The public is invited to the wake and Mass. Survived by brothers Frank and Matthew Brzana, and sisters Florence Blaszak and Helen Kasprzak, all of Cheektowaga, Bishop Brzana will be buried in St. Stanislaus Cemetery next to the graves of his parents. WIECZNY ODPOCZYNEK RACZ MU DAC, PANIE!