(Photo taken by Don Wielgus)
WESTFIELD – Deacon Paul Briere was born in New Bedford, and grew up in the coastal towns of Fairhaven and Mattapoisett, Mass. He graduated from Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth, and received his Bachelor?s degree from Stonehill College.
Deacon Briere had a lengthy business career at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, where he was a Second Vice-President and Senior Officer in the Group Division. He has also been employed by Phoenix Mutual, Genworth Financial, and Sun Life of Canada, from where he recently retired.
He was ordained as a Deacon for the Diocese of Springfield in May 2005, and until last year served at St. John the Evangelist parish in Agawam. In August 2012 he was reassigned by Bishop McDonnell to serve jointly at St. Peter and St. Casimir parish, and also at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament parish, both in Westfield. He has also served as an instructor in Homiletics in the Diaconate Formation Program of the Springfield diocese.
Deacon Briere is married, and he and his wife Linda reside in Feeding Hills. They have two daughters, Maureen, a teacher in a local school system, and Caitlin, who lives in Washington D.C. And works for the Environmental Protection Agency.
