Edward Joseph O'Donnell (July 4, 1931 – February 1, 2009) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who served as the fifth

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana from 1994 to 2002. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis in Missouri from 1983 to 1994, O'Donnell built a reputation as a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States during the 1960's.

Biography

Early life

Edward O'Donnell was born on July 4, 1931,

Saint Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. He attended Kenrick Seminary in Shrewsbury, Missouri. O'Donnell was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis on April 6, 1956, by Cardinal Joseph Ritter. In 1965, O'Donnell led a contingent from St. Louis to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

to participate in the Selma to Montgomery civil rights march. O'Donnell ran the Radio and Television Apostolate for the archdiocese. He moderated a television programs called “Quiz A Catholic” and appeared on radio in discussions with clergy from other faiths.

Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Louis

On December 6, 1982,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed O'Donnell as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis; he was consecrated by Archbishop John Lawrence May on February 10, 1983. He also served as vicar general of the archdiocese and edited its newspaper. In 1993, O'Donnell was appointed as

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the archdiocese while Archbishop May was fighting

brain cancer A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cance ...

. He served in this role for 15 months. He founded the Pro-Life Committee for the archdiocese as part of his opposition to

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

for women. It was one of the first Catholic groups in the nation to provide support to women who chose not to have

abortions Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnanci ...

Bishop of Lafayette

On November 8, 1994, John Paul II appointed O'Donnell as bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette. He was installed on December 16, 1994. One of O'Donnell's initiatives was to increase the number of African-Americans in diocesan affairs. He also instituted one of the first zero tolerance policies towards

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

by clergy in the nation. On November 8, 2002, John Paul II accepted O'Donnell's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette. Edward O'Donnell died from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

on February 1, 2009, at St. Agnes Home in

Kirkwood, Missouri Kirkwood is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis located in western St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 29,461. Founded in 1853, the city is named after James P. Kirkwood, chief engineer of the Pacific Railr ...

, at age 77.

Notes

1931 births 2009 deaths Clergy from St. Louis People from Lafayette, Louisiana Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Missouri Catholics from Louisiana {{Missouri-stub