Bishop Brown Hits Mandatory Retirement Age Tuesday

When Cardinal Roger Mahony turned 75 earlier this year, he promptly stepped down as archbishop of Los Angeles and handed the reins over to a successor chosen months earlier.

That won't be happening when Orange County's top Catholic cleric celebrates his 75th birthday Tuesday.

Although Bishop Tod D. Brown is required to send a letter of resignation to the Vatican when the clock strikes 75, no official retirement date or replacement has been announced, spokesman Stephen Bohannon said Sunday.

"It could take a year or it could take a few months" to find Brown's successor, Bohannon said.

Or perhaps longer?

OC Weekly reported last year that Brown asked for a five-year extension so he could oversee completion of a new cathedral for the Diocese of Orange. However, Bohannon said he was unaware of such a request.

Although it's not unusual for a bishop to stay on the job past the mandatory retirement age, the timetable is ultimately decided by the pope. A search for Brown's successor might already be underway, Bohannon said, but "nobody would know" because the process is so secretive.

For now, Brown remains at the helm, with an invitation-only birthday bash on his calendar and a just-released commemorative issue of Orange County Catholic, the diocesan newspaper, honoring his 13 years as Bishop of Orange.