Mary McNamara: Bishop O'Connell couldn’t bring me back to the church, but he restored my faith in faith
by Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
Feb 21, 2023
4 minutes
![](https://article-imgs.scribdassets.com/32zz9e7dtsaoznbm/images/fileNU5JTDAD.jpg)
When I learned that Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell had been shot to death in his home, I felt as if I had been turned to stone. I was standing in the house he had blessed, about to head out on a long-planned trip with my youngest daughter.
Years ago, when I told him I was pregnant with her, he had laughed. “A third, at your age? Sure, you’re still a Catholic at heart.”
Over the years, O’Connell had done his best to coax me back to the church. Though it never quite worked, he achieved something more miraculous: He restored my faith in faith.
I don’t know many people who have lived a life of loving service without that love at some point
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