Bishop David O’Connell
All the Funeral Services will be live-streamed. Follow the LA Catholic link below.
Wednesday, March 1, 2023: Memorial Mass with St. John Vianney Community at 7:00 pm.
Thursday, March 2, 2023: Vigil Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels at 7:00 pm.
Friday, March 3, 2023: Funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels at 11:00 am
The OLPH Women’s Guild is offering a special Mass for the repose of the soul of Bishop David O’Connell on Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 9:30 am
STATEMENT FROM ARCHBISHOP JOSÉ H. GOMEZ ON THE DEATH OF AUXILIARY BISHOP DAVID O’CONNELL
February 18, 2023
I am very sad this afternoon to report that our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell has passed away unexpectedly. It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness.
As a priest and later a bishop here in Los Angeles for more than forty-five years, Bishop Dave was 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 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. I know we all will. Please join me in praying for Bishop Dave and for 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.
In April 2020 as we faced uncertain times, Bishop Dave climbed the hills above the San Gabriel Valley and blest all of us throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and beyond. When asked why he was doing this, Bishop Dave said, “to bring us out from the darkness of the pandemic to the light of the Lord’s glory.” This is the man, the priest, the pastor, the shepherd we love and will miss dearly.
The ORE Youth Ministry Division has shared this photo and we share it with all of you as it so beautifully represents what was so important to Bishop Dave. This picture was taken at the 2022 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Long Beach as he helped the young people gathered to talk to Jesus. It was an incredibly moving experience to watch these young people respond to Bishop’s invitation and guidance. Bishop Dave wanted people to know Jesus intimately and to help people encounter our Lord and to grow in relationship with Jesus in His Church.
We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to minister with this holy man and we lift up our prayers for his family, friends and the San Gabriel Regional Office who are feeling this loss so deeply. May you rest in peace, dear Bishop.
