Former Bishop Donald Montrose dies

While Mahony focused on social-justice issues such as immigration, Montrose was known as a quiet, spiritual leader.

"When people recall the life of Bishop Montrose, they note his gentle spirit of humility, and those close to him always appreciated his sense of humor and storytelling," Blaire said in a statement. "He was a man of personal prayer and participated actively in the charismatic renewal movement."

Controversy arose in 1990s

But Montrose's service was not without controversy. In 1999, shortly before he retired at the mandatory age of 75, he graded his performance as mediocre after the diocese was hit by a series of lawsuits.

The most publicized was the molestation case two brothers filed in 1993 against then-priest Oliver Francis O'Grady, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison and has since admitted molesting several children. Montrose said at the time that he never had heard of pedophilia before the O'Grady case.

Two other cases, in 1992 and 1997, involved an assistant priest who successfully sued a Turlock priest and the diocese for slander and a priest accused of embezzling $76,000 in funds from the cathedral in Stockton.

Montrose also spoke of his failure to add more churches and priests as the diocese grew from 135,000 to 175,000 Catholics during his tenure. But he said he was leaving the diocese with a clear conscience and added, "I've been very fortunate to have been here. People have been very supportive and long- suffering."

Father Joseph Illo, pastor at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto, said Montrose's challenges of overseeing the church in the 1990s came in part because the church, and society, had changed so much from the church Montrose knew as he grew up in the 1940s and '50s.

"He ordained me in 1991, and so, of course, he's like a father to me in some ways," Illo said. "His strength was his fidelity to the priesthood, to Jesus Christ and the church. He loved to pray."

Bee staff writer Sue Nowicki can be reached at 578-2012 or snowicki@modbee.com.