Tod Brown

Born in San Francisco to George W. and Edna Anne (née Dunn) Brown, Brown has a younger brother, Daniel. His ancestry includes Danish, Irish, English, and Azorean nationalities.[2]

After receiving his primary education in northern California, he attended Ryan Seminary in Fresno and St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, from where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree. Brown then traveled to Rome to study at the Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University, there earning a bachelor's in Sacred Theology. Brown also earned a master's degree in biblical theology and education from the University of San Francisco.

He was ordained to the priesthood on May 1, 1963, for the service of the Diocese of Monterey. During his priestly ministry, Brown served as a parochial vicar, pastor, chairman of the Divine Worship Commission, chairman and member of the Presbyterial Council and Priests Pension Committee, and member of the Diocesan Board of Education. He was chancellor, curial moderator, and vicar general of Monterey as well.

On December 27, 1988, Brown was appointed the sixth Bishop of Boise City, Idaho, by Pope John Paul II. He was consecrated on April 3, 1989, by Archbishop William Levada, with Bishops Sylvester Treinen and Thaddeus Shubsda serving as co-consecrators. He assumed as his episcopal motto, "Come Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). While in Boise, Brown dealt with several incidents involving priest misconduct.[3][4] After nearly a decade in Idaho, he returned to his native California upon being named the third Bishop of Orange on June 30, 1998.

Brown had similar issues in Orange,[1][4] and was himself accused in 2007 of sexually abusing a boy age 12 in 1965.[5]

Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Brown chaired the BCEIA Subcommittee on Interreligious Dialogue and was on the committee for Orthodox-Roman Catholic Bishop's Dialogue and the Pontifical Council on Interreligious Dialogue. He was also a chairman of the Laity Committee and the Committee on Ecumenism and Interreligious Affairs.

His resignation as bishop of Orange was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on September 21, 2012, in accordance with Canon 401 § 1 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law (all bishops must submit an offer of resignation to the Pope upon reaching their 75th birthday, which for Brown was in 2011). The same day, Pope Benedict named bishop Kevin William Vann (originally a priest of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, and bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth in Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex) to succeed Brown as bishop of Orange.[6]

In 2012, the diocese acquired the bankrupt Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove; it was renamed "Christ Cathedral", was renovated, and dedicated as the seat of the diocese in 2019.

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange Official Site