SAN DIEGO — Jesuit Father Richard Brown was a fixture in Barrio Logan for 50 years.
As pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, he served and celebrated the community’s residents, especially its young people.
He formed a special bond with members of lowrider car clubs, seen by many as neighborhood toughs best avoided. He saw them as young men and women passionate about their vehicles, and treated them accordingly.
Father Brown retired in 2005 after 37 years at the parish. He remained active in the community until 2018, and died two years later in the Bay Area.
A mural depicting the Brown Image Car Club was unveiled on June 25 at Chicano Park. Henry Rodriguez, the club’s president, was present.
“Father Brown was a friend and loved by all of us. He guided us the right way,” he told Adela Garcia, who also knew him for decades.
One of the mural’s panels features a young Father Brown, wearing his straw hat, holding a microphone. Once more a fixture in his beloved barrio.
