Los Angeles: The Catholic community and country paid their last respects to the Irish auxiliary bishop who was shot dead in East Los Angeles. Bishop David O’Connell, (69), a Cork native, was assassinated yesterday afternoon.
He had been serving the Los Angeles community for 45 years and was known among his colleagues as a peacemaker. Bishop was shot shortly after 1:00 p.m. local time.
David O’Connell grew up in Cork before moving to Los Angeles County. He was ordained a priest in 1979 and was appointed an auxiliary bishop in 2015. Despite being a priest in Los Angeles, he maintained close ties with his family and friends in Cork.
He was also a regular visitor to Cork. Therefore, this tragedy is more than Cork can bear. Throughout the Diocese of Cork and Ross, prayers will be offered for Bishop David in the coming days.
Fintan Gavin, Bishop of Cork and Ross, expressed shock at his death. On behalf of the people of the Diocese of Cork and Ross, as well as the clergy and laity, the Church expressed condolences to O’Connell’s family.
The bishop expressed his gratitude to God for comforting Bishop David’s friends in Cork and Ireland. “May Bishop David, who tirelessly worked for peace and unity, rest in the bosom of the Lord,” he said in a condolence message.
In a condolence message, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez stated that the grief over Bishop David’s untimely death is unbearable. The bishop said he didn’t even know what to say. For four and a half decades, the bishop lived with the poor and the underprivileged. Bishop’s was a person who respected every human life as sacred. Bishop tried to build such a society. A good friend was also lost through this separation. The Archbishop of Los Angeles also asked everyone to pray for Bishop David and his family in Ireland.
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