In a spiritual week for LA Catholics, the loss of Bishop David O'Connell looms big

Alondra Ruiz had only spoken with the late Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell a handful of times, but like nearly all who met him, in that brief time she felt his care and commitment just through his presence.

" You might inform he was a man of strong faith who wished to help and was there for individuals out of love," she stated. "He was always kind, appreciative, simple, and he made everyone laugh. I felt the presence of God there."

O'Connell administered the confirmation for a group at her San Francisco Catholic Church in East L.A., like he carried out in parishes throughout the San Gabriel Valley area, where he was the L.A. Archdiocese's top administrator since 2015.

It was at the East L.A parish where Ruiz, like countless others, initially experienced the bishop's unique capability to connect with practically anyone from any walk of life.

Then came a day many will not forget, when on Feb. 18 the 69-year-old priest was discovered shot and killed inside his Hacienda Heights house.

The murder jolted a Roman Catholic neighborhood from L.A. to the Vatican. It prompted a number of days of mourning and memorials leading up to a funeral attended by thousands.

As Christians made their method through Holy Week today, Catholics throughout Southern California whose lives were impacted in some way by O'Connell were feeling deep space.

On one hand, they are concentrated on a spiritual time in the faith, reviewing the story of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection on Easter Sunday. On the other, the guy referred to as "Bishop Dave" - - the man who left his native Ireland to immerse himself in a Los Angeles ministry and came to call it home - - isn't physically here, like he always was in his more than 40 years of ministering in L.A. And that reality has actually remained in the minds of buddies and followers in Easter season.


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People take a look at items in a chapel dedicated to killed Bishop David O'Connell at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, Friday, Apr 7, 2023. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG).


< img alt=" Archbishop José H. Gomez kneels prior to the cross during Good ..." class= "lazyload size-article_inline" data-sizes= "automobile" data-src =" https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SGT-L-BISHOP-HOLY-03-0409-1.jpg?w=620 "data-srcset =" https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SGT-L-BISHOP-HOLY-03-0409-1.jpg?w=620 620w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SGT-L-BISHOP-HOLY-03-0409-1.jpg?w=780 780w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SGT-L-BISHOP-HOLY-03-0409-1.jpg?w=810 810w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SGT-L-BISHOP-HOLY-03-0409-1.jpg?w=1280 1280w, https://www.pressenterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SGT-L-BISHOP-HOLY-03-0409-1.jpg?w=1860 1860w "> Archbishop José H. Gomez kneels prior to the cross throughout Good Friday the Celebration of
the Passion of the Lord at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Friday, April 7 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG). Worshipers venerate the cross after Archbishop José H. Gomez performed the Good Friday liturgy during the Celebration of the Passion of the
Lord at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

on Friday, in Los Angeles.( Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG). Show Caption of. Broaden. Outside the St. Joseph Catholic Church in La Puente, simply a couple of miles from O'Connell's Hacienda Heights area, parishioners like Edwin Ramirez said they felt his presence during the Good Friday Stations of the Cross service, where the faithful pray and review the Passion story.

" I'm still gutted by it since he was such a shining example of his faith," Ramirez said. "But he's still with us in so many ways, particularly this week and in these services.".

O'Connell was an interim pastor at St. Joseph's last summer season, where staff and parishioners recall his participation with the school and confirmation programs there, all in between his ministerial tasks as an auxiliary bishop for a huge 66-parish region.

The church still keeps prayer cards with his photo throughout the workplace as one way of honoring his memory and keeping his spirit alive.

" No matter where he served, he always made people feel like they were special," Liturgy Director Lilia Garcia stated.

It's that sort of dedication to remaining close to the community that made him unwilling to move from priest to bishop, according to Deacon Sergio Perez, fearing it would keep him far from individuals who required him most.

Perez was O'Connell's local assistant for the previous 7 years, assisting him manage the operations and logistics of supervising a lot of churches, each with their own flock and problems, which allowed him to focus on community work.

" When a priest is struggling they turn to their bishop, when individuals aren't happy with their priest, they turn to the bishop. He's the regional shepherd for the priests and all the parishioners," he said. "But he didn't wish to handle leaking roofing systems and administration and politics etc.".

For years, O'Connell tirelessly crusaded amongst the marginalized and maltreated as pastor in some of Los Angeles's a lot of disregarded areas, where he earned his credibility as a guy of the people and a channel for solutions. An exhibition honoring the life, ministry and legacy of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Auxiliary, Bishop David O'Connell on display at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, Friday, Mar 17, 2023.
While the psychological wounds of the loss of O'Connell are fresh, the area has entered Holy Week assessing the tradition he left, and the example he set. These are enhanced at a time of spiritual renewal, in the theme of resurrection, those who understood him said today.

" He had a significant capability to create longterm relationships with shakers and movers, as well as the moved and shaken," said his long time friend and fellow Irish fellow citizen, said the Rev. Jay Cunnane, pastor at St. Cornelius Church in Long Beach.

Cunnane said he had a heart for the suffering and recalled his approach of having house-to-house conferences and ultimately block-wide street Masses to make sure he reached those in a lot of require.

" He 'd speak to individuals who would never have the means to get heard, connect them with leaders and turn their discomfort into neighborhood action," he included.

With the right joke at the ideal celebration, breaking down barriers or bringing people together simply by listening, O'Connell had an unmatched propensity for making things take place.

These are the things that people are remembering as they enter Easter, O'Connell's good friends said.

That's how it felt for Brodie Seagrave, who connected to O'Connell in 2012 when he was developing a nonprofit that provided high school students leadership experience by teaching soccer abilities to middle and primary schoolers in underserved neighborhoods.

O'Connell linked them with moneying partners when he found out about the idea, without even meeting Seagrave. Despite his busy schedule, he would even go to the group's Thanksgiving dinners years later on to show assistance.

" He was simply dedicated to his work and faith and the community and it was a motivation I still draw from," he stated.

Our Lady of Grace Parish in Encino, is beginning Holy Week celebrating the life and ministry of the late Bishop David O'Connell with the display screen of an 80-foot sawdust carpet on the center aisle inside the church. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG).
On Good Friday - - the Christian vacation marking the crucifixion of Christ - - at the downtown Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, lots of concerned reflect on the Stations of the Cross, just as they did back at St. Joseph church in La Puente. On March 3, this very cathedral was filled with thousands for O'Connell's funeral service.

On Friday, inside a peaceful chapel in one of the specific niches at the Cathedral, individual items from O'Connell's life stayed on display in an exhibit. Parishioners perused, studying the artifacts of a life dedicated to the priesthood, however one also accompanied with humor and devotion to the bad.

It was a bookend to a Holy Week that started with another homage: an 80-foot sawdust carpet diminishing the center aisle of Our Lady of Grace Church in Encino. It was a vibrant artwork, inspired by conventional Central American "alfombras," depicting eight different scenes from the bishop's life.

It's a memory quite alive, even amid the pain of loss, said Perez, the deacon back at St. Joseph Catholic Church in La Puente.

At today's Chrism Mass, where the clergy reconfirm their faith, Perez stated the presence nearly doubled to more than 500, which he credited to O'Connell's impact.

At the service, Archbishop José Gomez acknowledged O'Connell's death, calling him a "priest's priest" who took care of the salvation of every soul, and noted it was the first one without him in any of their memories.

" For the priests, it was a success, personally and professionally," Perez said. "He was their shepherd.".

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