Bishop O’Connell RIP

Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, a popular priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for many years known for his work ministering to immigrants, the poor, and victims of gun violence in South LA, was shot and killed Saturday. The shooting happened around 1 p.m. inside his home in Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County. Born in County Cork, Ireland in 1953, O’Connell studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained to serve in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1979. After ordination, he served as associate pastor in several parishes and as pastor at St. Frances X. Cabrini, Ascension, St. Eugene and St. Michael’s parishes – all in South L.A. Pope Francis named O'Connell a bishop in 2015. O'Connell worked in South Los Angeles for years and focused on gang intervention. He later sought to broker peace between residents and law enforcement following the violent 1992 uprising after a jury acquitted four white LA police officers in the beating of Rodney King, a black man. Nearly two decades later, O'Connell brought the San Gabriel Valley community together to rebuild a mission there destroyed an arson attack. In recent years he also spearheaded Catholic efforts in the region to work with immigrant children and families from Central America. Los Angeles Archbishop Gomez called Bishop O’Connell “a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother. He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected. He was also a good friend, and I will miss him greatly. We ask for prayers for the bishop and his family in Ireland. May Our Lady of Guadalupe wrap him in the mantle of her love, and may the angels lead him into paradise, and may he rest in peace.” Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department announced yesterday that charges would be brought against a Hispanic male, 65-year-old Carlos Medina, the husband of Bishop O’Connell’s housekeeper. It is currently unclear if the housekeeper is employed by Bishop O’Connell directly or by the archdiocese, but he had previously done work at the bishop’s residence.