St. Agnes. In 1954, he unsuccessfully tried to get a Knights of Columbus charter for an interracial council in Cleveland. When the Knights of Columbus refused to give the charter, Begin declared, "The only reason they're being kept out is their color. Anyone who denies that is a pussy-footing liar." Bishop of Oakland On January 27, 1962, Begin was appointed the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Oakland by Pope John XXIII. The diocese comprised Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, and included 386,000 Catholics. His installation took place on April 28, 1962. Between 1962 and 1965, Begin attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council. Death and legacy Floyd Begin died on April 26, 1977. Archbishop Joseph McGucken said the funeral mass for Begin. Begin was buried in the Bishop's Crypt at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward, California. On November 2, 2008, his remains were re-interred in the mausoleum of the new Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California. References 1902 births 1977 deaths Religious leaders from Cleveland Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Participants in the Second Vatican Council Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States