Catholic Church parishioners and clergy members on Sunday are mourning the death of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, who was found dead of a gunshot wound Saturday at his home in Hacienda Heights.
The Archdiocese announced that the 10 a.m. Mass Sunday mass at our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Downtown L.A. would be dedicated to O’Connell, with Archbishop José H. Gomez serving as celebrant.
The Mass is being live streamed at https://olacathedral.org/live.
Gomez on Saturday made no reference to the shooting but said, “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.
“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,” the Archbishop’s statement continued.
O’Connell was found shot in a home owned by the Archdiocese in the 1500 block of Janlu Avenue, near Los Robles Avenue and Turnbull Canyon Road. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has not explained the circumstances of the shooting. Doris Benavides, spokeswoman for the Archdioceses, said Saturday evening the cause of O’Connell’s death was “yet to be determined” and was under investigation.
It was not clear if a firearm was discovered at the scene.
O’Connell, widely known as “Bishop Dave” and nationally recognized among Catholic leaders, had a prominent role in administering the church’s message and managing resources in the San Gabriel Valley region of the Los Angeles Diocese, reporting to the archbishop. O’Connell was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015.
O’Connell was born in County Cork, Ireland in 1953. The Catholic Bishop of Cork and Ross, Fintan Gavin, called for prayers on his website Sunday, saying, “The news of the tragic death of Bishop David…
Read the full article here
