(This story has been updated to include photos and information from Father Daniel Morrison's first Mass.)
When Father Daniel Morrison celebrated his first Mass on June 22 at his home parish, St. John Neumann in Gaithersburg, he was joined at the Mass by two brother priests who are also his older brothers and fellow priests of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington: Father James Morrison, who was ordained in 2020 and has been appointed to serve as the administrator of Our Lady Queen of the Americas Parish in Washington; and Father Nicholas Morrison, who was ordained in 2021 and serves as a parochial vicar at St. Peter’s Parish on Capitol Hill.
In an interview before his ordination to the priesthood on June 21 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, then-Deacon Daniel Morrison, who is 26, reflected on the special fraternity experienced by seminarians who pray together, study together, play sports together and continue that brotherhood as priests when they are “joined to the mission” of serving Christ and the Church. He was inspired by the joy he witnessed in his brothers’ lives in the seminary, and then witnessing their joy increase as priests, “to see them become men and Fathers totally for others.”
In interviews, the three priest brothers said they have been inspired and supported by each other in their vocations.
Father Nicholas Morrison, who is 30, pointed out how his younger brother wanted to be a priest since he was 4 years old. “We’re very excited for him,” he said. “…I see him as quite an amazing young man, an inspiring young man, someone who’s a good example for others, and also for myself.” He said Father Daniel Morrison “is incredibly focused on all the right things, being present to the needs of others, bringing (people) back to the Church, to the sacraments, to the embrace of God.”
Father James Morrison, who is 32, noted how Jesus called two sets of brothers to be among his apostles: St. Peter and St. Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee, St. James and St. John.
The three Morrison priest brothers will be joining another set of priest brothers as priests of the Archdiocese of Washington: Father Brendan Glasgow, who was ordained in 2019 and is serving as an assistant vocations director for the archdiocese and as a coordinator of pastoral formation at the Saint John Paul II Seminary; and Father James Glasgow, who was ordained in 2020 and serves as the chaplain to the Catholic Newman Center at George Washington University. The Morrison brothers and Glasgow brothers grew up as friends in Montgomery County, Maryland, as their families homeschooled and knew each other, and later those brothers and friends were seminarians together.
Father James Morrison vested his younger brother, Father Daniel Morrison, at his ordination to the priesthood, and the next day, Father Nicholas Morrison preached the homily at their younger brother’s first Mass.
In addition to their parents, Dr. Eric and Dr. Grace Morrison, the congregation at Father Daniel Morrison’s ordination and at his first Mass included their sister, Anna Marie Bullis, who is married and has two young children; a younger sister, Sister Mary Sophia Morrison, who will be making her first vows as a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville in August; a younger brother, Thomas Morrison, who is a student at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio; and an adopted younger sister, Isabelle, who is 12 and has Down syndrome.
The new priest said he and his siblings have been inspired by the faith and love of their parents, who have homeschooled all seven children, and taught them to make Jesus the center of their lives. Dr. Eric Morrison is a dentist, and Dr. Grace Morrison, who has been active over the years in pro-life outreach, is a periodontist.
Asked how to explain three brothers in one family becoming priests and a sister becoming a woman religious, Father Nicholas Morrison reflected on that blessing, saying, “First off, (it’s) the grace of the Lord, the movement of the Lord. Second, the example of our parents, friends and priests, teaching us how important it is to live radically generous lives, to live our lives for the Lord, for the salvation of souls.”
Father Nicholas Morrison added, “We’re equally as proud of our other siblings who are seeking to do the Lord’s will in these other states of life.”
Father Daniel Morrison noted how his parents and his brothers and sisters have a special devotion to Mary. While the Morrison children were growing up, their parents led them in praying a family rosary at bedtime. Later, several pivotal events in the vocation lives of the Morrison siblings happened on the feast day of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, including Father James Morrison’s ordination to the priesthood and then-Deacon Nicholas Morrison’s ordination to the transitional diaconate on June 20, 2020. Their sister Anna Marie Bullis married her husband Connor on that feast day in 2022, and now they have a daughter Avila who is 2 and a baby son Fulton who was born in March. And then-Deacon Daniel Morrison was ordained to the transitional diaconate on that feast day last year. Later he learned that his parents had made a consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary after they had been married.
“It’s a testament to her (Mary’s) motherly care (for all of us),” the new priest said.
All four Morrison brothers enjoy taking summer hiking trips together at National Parks. The brothers have hiked at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Yosemite National Park in California and Zion National Park in Utah.
Father Daniel Morrison and Father Nicholas Morrison have joined their father and other cyclists in making 100-mile bike rides during the annual Ride for Vocations event in Maryland.
This past summer, then-Deacon Daniel Morrison was assigned to serve at St. Joseph’s Parish on Capitol Hill, on the same street a few blocks away from St. Peter’s Parish on Capitol Hill where his brother, Father Nicholas Morrison, serves as a parochial vicar, so they got to join each other for dinner, attend Washington Nationals baseball games and walk to the National Mall together. “He could almost see my church from his church,” Father Nicholas Morrison said.
Their bond as brothers was already strong and now takes on a deeper dimension as the three older Morrison brothers will be brother priests together following Father Daniel Morrison’s ordination to the priesthood.
“We’re very proud to see him making this step, just to have his gifts serving the Church alongside me as a brother is a great source of encouragement,” said Father James Morrison. He added, “Here we are, we’re doing it (the priesthood) together.”
Before the final blessing at his first Mass, Father Daniel Morrison thanked his parents, saying their love and sacrifice inspired his vocation. And he also said, “In a special way, I want to thank my siblings, both young and old, for your inspiration to me, to love the Lord with my whole heart.”
