Auxiliary Bishop O’Connell of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was shot dead on Saturday, February 18. After hearing the news, Archbishop Gomez said that Bishop O’Connell was a builder of peace, and he cared about the poor and immigrants during his lifetime.
(Vatican News Network)Tragic news came from the United States that the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, David O’Connell, was brutally murdered on Saturday, February 18. His body was found near the church of St. John Vianney around 1 p.m. local time, according to the Los Angeles Times. Auxiliary Bishop O’Connell was found lifeless.
“We are deeply troubled and saddened by this tragic news,” Archbishop José H. Gomez of the Los Angeles Archdiocese issued a statement the following morning, Sunday, February 19. The statement also read: “Bishop O’Connell was a peacebuilder with the poor and the immigrant at heart, who dedicated his life to building a community that respects and protects the sanctity and dignity of all life.”
“O’Connell served for 45 years as a priest and bishop in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, a life of prayer and special devotion to Our Lady,” said Archbishop Gomez. “Friends and relatives of Ireland” prayer. After hearing the sad news, the faithful of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles went to offer candles and recite the Rosary near the site where the bishop was shot.
Auxiliary Bishop O’Connell was born on 16 August 1953 in Cork, Ireland. He studied theology in Dublin and was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on 10 June 1979. On June 21, 2015, Pope Francis appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles.
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