Bishop's death leaves uncertain future
Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell was adored by many, a fact reflected in the thousands of parishioners who attended three days of services in his honor last week, capped by a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
While the funeral Mass on Friday was the coda on mourning and memorials since O'Connell was found shot to death inside his Hacienda Heights home on Feb.18, the story of his death, and its impact, is not yet over.
Questions remain, spanning from the criminal investigation into his death to the process for picking a successor to O'Connell, who was the L.A. Archdiocese's top administrator in its San Gabriel Valley region.
Here's a look at what's next as the impact of the bishop's death continues to be felt across the region:
Criminal case
The man accused of killing the bishop, Carlos Medina, appeared in court shortly after his arrest but his arraignment was postponed until March 22. If convicted of murder as charged, Medina could face 35 years to life in prison.
The handyman, 61 at the time of the death, worked for the bishop and has confessed to investigators, the district attorney has said, adding that investigators believe they found the gun used in the killing.
Medina's wife, a devout Catholic, also worked for the bishop at his modest Hacienda Heights home as a housekeeper. The sheriff has said she has cooperated with authorities in their investigation.
Law-enforcement officials have not revealed a possible motive.
Medina has claimed to investigators that the bishop owed him money; it is unclear if that was true. But a sheriff's lieutenant has said Medina's comments have largely not made sense, so investigators have discounted owed money as a motive.
What, if any, defense strategy Medina's lawyer will deploy is unclear. That will emerge after the arraignment.
Where is he buried?
After the funeral Mass, the bishop was interred in a private ceremony at the crypt mausoleum of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The mausoleum — its walls of Spanish limestone and stained glass windows throughout — is below the main church. Its 1,300 crypts and 5,000niches for cremated remains are said to be among the largest cathedral burial vaults in the world.
O'Connell is now interred among clerics, including Thaddeus Amat y Brusi, the first bishop of Los Angeles, and John Cantwell, the first Archbishop of Los Angeles in the early 20th century. The remains of Saint Vibiana, a third-century martyr of the church and the patron saint of the Archdiocese of L.A., also are there. A famous lay person interred at the mausoleum is actor Gregory Peck.
Some had wondered if O'Connell would be buried in his native Ireland. But after decades of building a ministry in L.A. and capturing a huge following, it became clearer as his funeral approached that the cleric would find his final resting place here.
His own family, from Ireland, emphasized that point last week.
“Dave loved to come home back to Ireland every summer. But we knew his home was Los Angeles,” his brother, Kieran, told a congregation during a memorial Mass Wednesday at O'Connell's Hacienda Heights church. “We have great memories of coming here to spend time with Dave . ... Over the years, meeting his friends and his family, the people we've met and their unwavering support and friendship they've shown during these visits have showed us why he loved this place.”
And the weather: “Blue skies and a bone-chilling 80degrees,” he would tell his brother over the phone.
Memorial at his home
There are no plans yet to remove the memorial started by parishioners at O'Connell's home, according to archdiocese officials.
If people continue to add to the tribute, it will remain, officials said.
Filling his role
Both the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley area will have to wait and see what happens.
The process of selecting an auxiliary bishop is one that could take years, but if there is an actual need, it becomes more urgent. Ultimately, the new auxiliary bishop will be appointed by Pope Francis and ordained by L.A. Archbishop Jose Gomez.
It was Francis who in 2015 chose O'Connell to be the episcopal vicar for the San Gabriel pastoral region of the L.A. Archdiocese.
The region includes East Los Angeles through the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys. Its coverage includes 66 parishes, 14 high schools and the Mission San Gabriel Mission Arcángel.
The region, exceedingly diverse, includes Masses spoken in Spanish, Vietnamese, Filipino, Indonesian, Chinese, Arabic and Korean. It also includes the Armenian Eastern Catholic Church.
It was a point echoed by O'Connell himself, speaking to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune when he was appointed.
“It's a diverse community,” he said. “Of course, there are many good priests and religious figures (in the area) and I need to get to know them and their work. I want to listen, to see and to recognize what is good and look at the ability.”
It might have been a heavier lift for O'Connell if he didn't already have tremendous experience as pastor of churches in South L.A.
The selection for an auxiliary bishop begins with meetings at which a proposed lists of candidates for the office of bishop in the various dioceses are discussed among the diocesan bishops of the ecclesial province.
The Los Angeles province includes the Archdiocese of L.A. and dioceses of Fresno, Monterey, Orange, San Bernardino and San Diego.
From the list, three candidates are chosen and then sent to the nuncio — a Vatican embassy — in Washington, D.C.
Once processed, a congregation in Rome does a preliminary review of the candidates. Once the congregation approves all three candidates, a cardinal is given the task of presenting it to a session of cardinals. Then the list goes to the Pope for approval. When the choice is made, the nuncio is notified, who then contacts the priests. A sainthood candidate?
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops under the Roman Catholic faith, saints are persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others or were martyred for the faith and who are worthy of imitation.
There are three steps to sainthood.
A candidate becomes venerable, a designation given to a deceased person recognized formally by the Pope as having lived a heroically virtuous life or offered their life.
Then, there is blessed, where one miracle acquired through the candidate's intercession is required in addition to recognition of heroic virtue or offering of life.
Canonization requires a second miracle after beatification. The Pope may waive these requirements. A miracle is not required prior to a martyr's beatification, but one is required before canonization. Then they become a saint.
In a message read by Gomez, a “deeply saddened” Pope Francis praised O'Connell's 45 years of ministry as being “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.”
The archdiocese encourages the community to continue sharing their stories of O'Connell, if making him a candidate for sainthood is something they are passionate about.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has put up a website in honor of O'Connell at ahailmaryforbishopdave.com . The Catholic community can leave a message on the digital memorial, join in praying a Hail Mary, commit to doing an act of kindness and share stories of how O'Connell impacted their lives or relationship with their faith.
O'Connell's pet dog
The dog has found a new home. O'Connell's family chose the adoptive family, who is a friend of the bishop. The friend will now look after his dog, according to the archdiocese.