ROME — Pope Francis has praised murdered L.A. Bishop David O’Connell for his pro-life efforts and commitment to the poor and migrants.
The pope said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the untimely and tragic death” of Bishop O’Connell in a telegram signed at his behest by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, offering his “heartfelt condolences and the assurance of his spiritual closeness to you, the clergy and religious and lay faithful” of Los Angeles.
Bishop O’Connell was found with a gunshot wound in his upper torso in the bedroom of his Hacienda Heights home on February 18 and was pronounced dead at the scene. Later, L.A. police arrested 65-year-old Carlos Medina, the husband of O’Connell’s housekeeper, in connection with the shooting and he has been charged with murder.
In his telegram, the pope lauded O’Connell’s many years of “devoted priestly and episcopal ministry to the church in Los Angeles, marked especially by his profound concern for the poor, immigrants, and those in need, his efforts to uphold the sanctity and dignity of God’s gift of life and his zeal for fostering solidarity, cooperation, and peace within the local community.”
Francis offered O’Connell’s soul to God, praying that those who venerate the bishop’s memory will be confirmed in their resolve to “reject the ways of violence and overcome evil with good.”
The pope’s telegram was read aloud by L.A. Archbishop José Gomez at a March 1 memorial Mass for the bishop at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Hacienda Heights, where O’Connell had previously lived.
O’Connell’s funeral Mass is slated for 11:00am Friday, March 3, at the Los Angeles cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
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