A friend of Jesus: Honoring Bishop Dave’s legacy
This story is part of a series featured in a commemorative issue honoring Bishop David O’Connell. Read more stories at the Bishop Dave Commemorative Issue web page.
Just about everyone I knew was surprised that Msgr. David O’Connell — a priest working in South LA — was appointed auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles.
I heard the news earlier than most. I was working at The Tidings and Vida Nueva in 2015, and I was asked to write about the appointment before the public announcement. O’Connell was named auxiliary bishop along with Msgr. Joseph Brennan and Father Robert Barron. Of the three, Bishop Dave was the hardest to reach.
When I finally did reach him, the first thing he asked was about me and my family. Bishop Dave didn’t care to talk about himself much. Frankly, we wanted to write more about his work before his appointment, but he didn’t really cooperate. He always suggested someone else we should write about.