Jimmy Panetta: “I recognize today the life of Catholic Bishop Richard Garcia who recently passed at the age of 71. Although his loss was…”

“I recognize today the life of Catholic Bishop Richard Garcia who recently passed at the age of 71. Although his loss was after a very short battle with Alzheimer's, Bishop Garcia lived a long life filled with God and God's children. His parents were immigrants from Mexico who wanted to give their children a better life. That American Dream was fulfilled when Bishop Garcia became a priest in 1973, and, fortunately for me and my constituents, in 2006 he was then named the bishop for the Monterey Diocese. When Bishop Garcia would see you, he would grab you, he would hug you, and he wouldn't look through you, but he would look at you. It was at that point that you would feel his love and his divine spirit for every man. Bishop Garcia welcomed everyone who entered his church, but also those who entered this country. He didn't care just about people, but also the future of this planet. A quote by another eminent priest from the central coast of California, Saint Junipero Serra, was: ``Always to go forward and never to turn back.'' As we look back on the life of Richard Garcia, we know that his spirit, his love, and his guidance provides us with the divinity to always go forward. ____________________”