Sulpician Fr. Jerry Brown dies at 85

On Sunday, August 11, 2024, Fr. Gerald L. Brown, P.S.S., died at the age of 85 at Villa Olier, the Sulpician retirement residence in Catonsville, MD.

Fr. Brown was born in Garden City, Kansas on December 2, 1938, but raised in San Francisco, and joined the Society of St. Sulpice (Sulpicians) in 1966 as a priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, for which he was ordained in 1964. Among his academic degrees, Fr. Brown had an M. Div. from St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, CA, where he later served as President Rector (1978-1985 and 2004-2009), and a doctorate in communications from Temple University (1979).

In 1985, Fr. Brown was elected as Provincial of the U.S. Province of Sulpicians, based in Baltimore. He served two terms in that position (until 1997), during which he expanded the missionary efforts of the Province in Central Africa (Zambia) and also in San Antonio, TX. In addition, he served in several other seminaries during his ministry, including St. Thomas Seminary in Kenmore, WA, St. Patrick's College in Mountainview, CA, Theological College in Washington, D.C., and Assumption Seminary in San Antonio. As Provincial, he joined Cardinal William Keeler in welcoming Pope St. John Paul II to St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore (1995).

Recognizing his declining health, Fr. Brown retired in 2013 to St. Charles Villa (later named Villa Olier) in Catonsville, adjacent to Charlestown Retirement Community. In addition to his Sulpician confreres, Fr. Brown is survived by two sisters and several other family members. His funeral will be held at Our Lady of the Angels Parish in Catonsville at 11:00 AM on August 19. 2024, followed by burial in the Sulpician Cemetery nearby.