On the recordNovember 7, 2023
Today I rise to honor the life of my good friend Bishop Emeritus Tod Brown, who recently passed away at the age of 86. Bishop Brown led our diocese for 14 years in a community that is now 50 percent Roman Catholic. Under his leadership, the diocese more than doubled in its membership, and by the year 2012, there were more than 1.2 million Roman Catholics in Orange County, California. In recognizing the diversity of our church, Bishop Brown ordained the Nation's first Vietnamese Roman Catholic bishop in 2003 and one of the first Hispanic bishops in the United States in the year 2000. On a personal note, Bishop Brown administered first communion to my children in the good old days. Bishop Brown will be remembered. God bless him. We thank my good friend for all the good work he did. Honoring Jerry Mumford Patterson
