But above all, the bishops funeral Mass attended by thousands on Friday morning, March 3, with an untold number watching via livestream reflected the spirit of a man who saw reverence in the prosaic. OConnell was found shot at his Hacienda Heights home on February 18. When you have found an obituary of interest, you have the option of upgrading that obituary with more recent and relevant content unless the obituary is Over the years, O'Connell was a pastor at a number of parishes in Los Angeles and several nearby communities. The grief will scar. The community mourns the loss of Auxiliary Bishop David OConnell, who was found shot dead in Hacienda Heights. Pope Francis named O'Connell an auxiliary bishop in 2015. In a statement following O'Connell's death, Archbishop Jos H. Gomez described the 69-year-old O'Connell as a "peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant.". Obituary of David O'Connell, 64. The casket of Bishop David O'Connell is brought into the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for his funeral Mass Friday, March 3, 2023. He later described his role in the rebuilding of the historic church as one of support and encouragement.. Someone what was caring, forgiving, and merciful with the community and people.. He was also the chairman of the interdiocesan Southern California Immigration Task Force which helped coordinate the churchs response to immigrant children and families from Central America in recent years. He was a father figure for a lot of us, he said. The authorities arrested a man on Monday in connection with the killing of David G. OConnell, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who was found fatally shot at his home on Saturday, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department said. Norma Seni Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, called O'Connell "truly a man of God" in a tweet. I have heard from people in Peru and South Africa. And, most importantly, it put words to the grief OConnells death has caused his loved ones. He was just this light that radiated so much positivity, love and encouragement, she said. We won't rent or sell your information, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Weve been forced to draw back from each other. He found the good in people, praised it, and spoke it into them., The recessional at the Funeral Mass for Bishop David OConnell at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA, Friday, March 3, 2023. David M. O'Connell, loving husband and father, passed away on December 12, 2018 after a brief illness. Reyes said that Bishop OConnell ordained his class of new priests two years ago. (Photo by Dean Musgrove), The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem stand during the viewing for Bishop David OConnell at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, in Downtown Los Angeles, March 2, 2023. Irish-born Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, David OConnell, who was shot dead last month was so beloved in the community that his funeral remembrances took place over three days culminating in his interment in a crypt in a Cathedral on Friday. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), People attend Bishop David OConnells Vigil Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, March 2, 2023. Born December 17, 1947 in Allegan, Michigan, he was the son of the late James Joseph and Amelia (Hinkle) OConnell and the husband of his only true love, Donna Jean (Stratton) OConnell. So there was some kind of a maybe working relationship, but were still trying to figure out what that relationship was.. During Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels the next day, Archbishop Gomez announced that the LA County Sheriffs Department had confirmed to the archdiocese earlier that morning that investigators had ruled his death a homicide. It had poignancy and humor. OConnell was fatally shot at his Hacienda Heights home on Feb. 18. David OConnell, an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, leading a memorial service in 2020. Many young immigrants, Hamilton added, likely would not have been granted asylum without OConnells work. Bail was set at $2 million. He was 69. LA Auxiliary Bishop David OConnell dies unexpectedly at 69 OConnell was shot and killed at his Hacienda Heights home on Feb. 18. That was part of our work as a Church, to try to provide spaces for conversations, he told CNA in a 2020 interview. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has announced the funeral arrangements for the late Auxiliary Bishop David OConnell, who was murdered in his Hacienda Heights home on Feb. 18. The suspect in the shooting, 61-year-old Carlos Medina, has been charged with the murder. The suspect in the shooting, 61-year-old Carlos Medina, has been charged with the murder. He is also survived by nieces and nephews. David was a friend of souls, Cunnane told the congregation during the homily. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), Archbishop Gomez walks to the altar for Bishop David OConnells Vigil Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, March 2, 2023. (Victor Alemn). As a pastor, OConnell also saw firsthand the effect of broken families on the community. Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. OConnell, a native of Ireland who spent most of his four decades as a priest ministering in LAs inner city, has died. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), Sisters attend a public viewing for Bishop David OConnell at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, March 2, 2023. In 2018, he spoke about the need to recognise that there were all sorts of configurations of families, including single parents, gay couples and people in second marriages. Around 11 a.m., the mourners stood as dozens of church leaders proceeded to the cathedrals altar. But despite his long list of accolades and accomplishments, OConnell was known as a low-key priest with a down-to-earth demeanor and an Irish brogue he never bothered to try hiding. Those emotions were on display once again on Thursday, as Cardinal Roger Mahony wept as he embraced OConnells casket in prayer as he ended his homily. usually in the mountains focusing on how to be good fathers and husbands, something he saw as key to the health of a community. On Sunday morning, detectives found surveillance footage that shows a dark-colored S.U.V. Please enter your information to receive emails informing you of families we are currently serving. As part of this free service you may receive occasional offers from us at EWTN News and EWTN. The firearms will need to be tested to determine whether either one was used in the fatal shooting, Sheriff Luna said. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), Clergy arrive at the Funeral Mass for Bishop David OConnell at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA Friday, March 3, 2023. The younger OConnell, as if speaking to the heavens, told his uncle he and everyone who knew the bishop was proud of him. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), Archbishop Jose Gomez places a bible on the casket of Bishop David OConnell at Funeral Mass held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA Friday, March 3, 2023. The authorities said the man in custody was the husband of the bishops housekeeper. OConnell was at the scene hours after the early morning fire, rosary in hand, to grieve and pray with shocked parishioners. And we thought we really had achieved a lot of progress. Bishop Dave, as he was known, was episcopal vicar for the archdioceses San Gabriel Pastoral Region since, 2015, when Pope Francis named him an auxiliary bishop, The riots broke out during Father OConnells first tour at St. Frances X. Cabrini Church (1988-1998). It is a privilege to be part of peoples lives, especially in their time of suffering and need, he said, on learning he was to be elevated to auxiliary bishop in 2015. His story is worth sharing. Helping, supporting and generally being the face of Jesus for me and many many others. Those who knew him testify that he seemed most at ease with the working people he spent all those years with in South LA. He began his day before dawn, ended it after midnight and filled almost every hour with people, all sorts of people in every state of emotion, need and grace. "It's been the great joy of my life to be the pastor of these people, especially the ones who are suffering or in need or facing difficulty," O'Connell told Angelus News in 2015. There, OConnell ministered to a community afflicted by gang violence, poverty, broken families, as well as tensions between locals and members of the Los Angeles Police Department and the LA Sheriffs Department. Archbishop Jose H Gomez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles celebrated the Mass. Utah Obituaries - Latest Obituaries in Orem Utah - Tributes.com Bishop OConnell said in a July 2015 interview with Angelus, the publication of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, that being a pastor in South Central Los Angeles had been the great joy of my life., Its been a great privilege, a great blessing to be given these parishes all these years, to be pastor all these years, he said. David OConnell, nephew of Bishop David OConnell, speaks at the Funeral Mass for his uncle at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA, Friday, March 3, 2023. At the national level, OConnell was the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. LOS ANGELES - Funeral services were announced Thursday for Los Angeles Catholic Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell, who was gunned down at his home in Hacienda Carlos Medina, the husband of O'Connell's housekeeper has been arrested for his murder. Friendship is something he was good at he was friends with young and old, up and down the social scale, Cunnane, a pastor at Long Beachs St. Cornelius Church and close friend of OConnells, said. In 2015, Pope Francis named him an auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese. OConnell was shot and killed at his Hacienda Heights home on Feb. 18. I'm still sort of stunned. David OConnell was originally from Brooklodge, near Glanmire, Co Cork, and was one of five children born to David and Joan OConnell. OConnell was found shot at his Hacienda Heights home on February 18. I can honestly say that he was one of the most Christ-like men Ive known.. Thousands more watched from the cathedrals plaza. We have the opportunity to pick up where he left off and to carry the example that he set., He urged all those who attended the Mass to help those you can help.. Apu The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department previously said investigators responded to a shooting death at 12:57 p.m. on Saturday in the LA suburb of Hacienda Heights, where an adult male was pronounced dead. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), David OConnell, nephew of Bishop David OConnell, speaks at the Funeral Mass for his uncle at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA, Friday, March 3, 2023. DAVID O'CONNELL OBITUARY But now for me and my family and for everyone who is listening here today there comes an opportunity. We are heartbroken.. But I didnt. O'Connell was a native of Ireland and had been a priest and later a bishop in Los Angeles for 45 years. ". Apart from aiding neighborhood recovery efforts, OConnell pushed to restore trust between the inner-city residents and law enforcement. He just lifted everybody up.. DAVID O'CONNELL OBITUARY. Apu Gomes/Agence France-Presse Getty Images, Bishop OConnell said in a July 2015 interview with Angelus. Los Angeles Sheriffs Department Sheriff Robert Luna said at that press conference that Medina had done work at the bishops residence as well. He noted that the bishop was a great supporter of the Diocesan Mission to South America and ensured that it was included in LAs annual mission appeal. They were always words of affirmation. Ted Chen reports for the NBC4 News on Feb. 21, 2023. He said that they always joked about which was the better county his native Sligo or the Bishops beloved Co Cork. A Magdalene laundry and its clients: Holles Street, Fitzwilliam Tennis Club, Captain Americas, Conor OBrien inexplicably and shockingly shot dead by Earl McKevitt over pizza delivery error, Before I would have held my husbands hand walking around the streets. Throughout the day, visitors waited in lines that stretched outside the Cathedral for the chance to approach and walk by OConnells body, which lay in an open casket. The community mourns the loss of Auxiliary Bishop David OConnell, who was found shot dead in Hacienda Heights. A transcript of his last recorded homily, delivered one week before he was killed, is on the Catholic news website angelusnews.com. How the biggest companies plan mass layoffs, Greece train crash: Rescuers to wrap up search operation, Thinking Anew Speaking the language of compassion. OConnell was found shot at his Hacienda Heights home on February 18. As will the thousands of others whom OConnell had comforted. He was ministering at St Frances Xavier Cabrini parish when the LA riots broke out in 1992, following the beating of African American motorist Rodney King by police officers. O'Connell was found shot just before 1 p.m. Saturday at his home in the 1500 block of Janlu Avenue, near Turnbull Canyon Road. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department From the smallest family to the biggest organizations he was always there, he said. He became Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2015. Cunnanes homily managed to make the crowd both laugh and cry. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), Archbishop Jose Gomez greets family members of Bishop David OConnell at the Funeral Mass held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA Friday, March 3, 2023. But grateful to God for having had all those years a good friend to walk the road with, he said. OConnell was found shot at his Hacienda Heights home on February 18. "Your sudden departure has left us extremely sad," Pimentel said. Beverly - David R. O'Connell, 58, of Beverly, died on Wednesday, January 5, 2022, at Beverly Hospital. Bishop David O'Connell's nephew remembered him as 'a comedian' who introduced his nieces and nephews to Disneyland and Denny's. OConnell was found shot at his Hacienda Heights home on February 18. hide caption, Bishop David O'Connell, seen above at a meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2021, is being remembered as a peacemaker and "truly a man of God.". Its currently unclear what the motive for the killing was. Heartfelt tributes were paid to the 69-year-old native of Glanmire, Co Cork who was ordained as a priest in 1979. The suspect in the shooting, 61-year-old Carlos Medina, has been charged with the murder. The Catholic Bishop of Cork and Ross Dr Fintan Gavin, said Bishop OConnells tragic death had sent shockwaves across the diocese. ", Immigration attorney Linda Dakin-Grimm said O'Connell was "there for every child and family I have represented. In his role as episcopal vicar for the archdioceses San Gabriel Pastoral Region, it fell to OConnell to accompany the parish community of Mission San Gabriel, the oldest Catholic outpost in the archdiocese, when it was almost completely destroyed in an arson attack in July 2020. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement that Bishop OConnell was an active member of our Conference and a champion for the poor and marginalized who had previously led its antipoverty initiative. 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Pope Francis named him an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2015. One day earlier, Gomez said O'Connell had "passed away unexpectedly," but gave no additional details. Bishop OConnell cared deeply for victims of social and racial injustice and spent most of his priesthood in South Central Los Angeles, Bishop Barron said. He was the loving husband to Lynnette (Strople) O'Connell with whom he In contrast to recent days, often taken up with spoken words at prayers services and masses that mourned the pastor, the viewing was a quiet event, focused on the singular image of the bishops casket amid the vast open interior space of the Cathedral. Lend an ear and listen to people. He helped so many, many unaccompanied minors and families with immigration, Jeff Hamilton, also a member of that task force, said in an interview after the service. There were no signs of forced entry, and no weapon was found at the home, Sheriff Luna said. The people have touched my heart the way they are sincere," he added. David Hall Obituary (1939 - 2020) | Orem, Utah Born in 1953 in County Cork, Ireland, he was ordained a priest in 1979 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), People attend a Vigil Mass for Bishop David OConnell at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, March 2, 2023. He helped restore trust between residents and law enforcement by organizing meetings with police officers in peoples homes and providing opportunities for dialogue and reconciliation in the aftermath of the 1992 LA riots. It came from that special place, that secret place in him, said Mahoney, speaking within a few steps from OConnells casket at the front of the sanctuary facing its middle aisle, covered in a white sheet. When he heard the news of OConnells murder, Cunnane said he was speechless and shocked.. He began his day before dawn, ended it after midnight and filled almost every hour with people, all sorts of people in every state of emotion, need and grace., Archbishop of Los Angeles Jos Gmez described Bishop OConnell as a man of peace. (Photo by Dean Musgrove), The entrance for the viewing for Bishop David OConnell at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, in Downtown Los Angeles, March 2, 2023. Bishop David OConnell was at ease in the corridors of LOS ANGELES - Funeral services were announced Thursday for Los Angeles Catholic Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell, who was gunned down at his home in Hacienda Heights. I David always said that there was a big difference between a Sligo man and a Cork man. There was an outpouring of grief among the communities in which he worked when the news emerged that he had been shot dead at his home in Hacienda Heights. Julio Cortez/AP (Victor Alemn), I think we have to bring the joy of the Gospels that Pope Francis talks about reaching out to each other and serving each other, he said. He healed souls. I am here. 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He and other local faith leaders helped organize meetings with police officers in peoples homes and provide opportunities for dialogue and reconciliation. Monsignor Cunnane said that Bishop OConnell had a particular fondness for Guinness which he described with his typical comedic touch as being all black with a white collar a bit like a priest. He is based out of the Boston area. A priest kisses Bishop David OConnell during a public viewing at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, March 2, 2023. "[M]ay you rest in peace Bishop O'Connell. He said that Mr. Medina had not been formally charged and that investigators were continuing to examine evidence, including two firearms seized from Mr. Medinas home, where he was arrested after a standoff. At ease in the corridors of power and with the powerless. Every day he worked to show compassion to the poor, to the homeless, to the immigrant and to all those living on societys margins, Archbishop Gomez said. He held a rosary. He said a Cork man might leave without saying goodbye but a Sligo man might say goodbye but he wouldnt leave.. It was that spirit, Mahony said, that moved OConnell in inspired ways, from his now well-known efforts as a peacemaker during the 1992 riots in L.A. to his advocacy of immigrants to connecting with generations of young Catholics and priests. in communication and M.S. Earlier Pope Francis sent a message paying tribute to Bishop OConnells years of devoted priestly and episcopal ministry to the Church in Los Angeles. David O'Connell passed away in Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania. He went to Glounthaune National School and continued to Farranferris College in Cork city. Michael David OConnell, Sr., 73 of Allegan, Michigan, passed away early Friday morning, October 1, 2021 at Holland Hospital. Mourners broached the entrance of the cathedral, nestled in the heart of Downtown L.A., early on Friday to be part of the communion to honor OConnell. A Catholic bishop who church leaders remembered as a "peacemaker" was found dead of a gunshot wound on Saturday. Cunnane, who is from Sligo, Ireland, closed his homily with an apt saying from his and OConnells shared homeland. Medina is the husband of O'Connell's housekeeper, and he also performed handyman work at the bishop's home, authorities said. And thats what OConnells ministry was ultimately about, Cunnane said: friendship communion. Bishop Robert Barron, a former auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who now serves in Minnesota, said he first met Bishop OConnell when they were appointed as bishops on the same day in September 2015. A vigil Mass was held Thursday for Auxiliary Bishop David G. OConnell at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. Hes left quite a big void in our community with all the work that he did and we all have to pick up where he left off in some small way, Hamilton said. I knew it was going to be a big turnout because he touched and impacted so many lives.. Looking back on the impact of the pandemic, OConnell remarked that Covid-19 has done a lot of damage not just to our health but to our hearts and souls..