John Joseph O'Hara (born February 7, 1946) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, who served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

from 2014 to 2021.

Biography

Early life

O'Hara was born on February 7, 1946, in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958,Don Bosco Preparatory High School , motto_translation = To Increase in Knowledge and Grace , accreditation = Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools , rival = Bergen Catholic High SchoolSaint Joseph Regional High School , mascot = , ma ...

in Ramsey, New Jersey. He earned a Bachelor of English degree from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

in South Orange, New Jersey. O'Hara worked in broadcast journalism for 13 years before entering St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York.

Priesthood

O'Hara was ordained into the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New York by Archbishop John O'Connor on December 1, 1984. His assignments, both in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

, included St. Charles Parish' as

parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

from 1984 to 1992, and St. Teresa's Parish from 1992 to 2012 as both parochial vicar and

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

. O'Hara served as the director of strategic pastoral planning for the archdiocese from 2012 to 2022, where he led the "Making All Things New" planning process for parish mergers.

Auxiliary Bishop of New York

O'Hara was named

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Ath Truim and an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on June 14, 2014. He was consecrated by Cardinal

Timothy Dolan Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Dolan served as the president of the United S ...

in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan on August 4, 2014. Auxiliary bishops Gerald Walsh and Dominick Lagonegro were the co-consecrators. O'Hara's

crosier A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

had been used by the late Cardinal

Terence Cooke Terence James Cooke (March 1, 1921 – October 6, 1983) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battling leukemia throughout his tenure. He was named a cardin ...

, a former Archbishop of New York. In October 2017, O'Hara intervened to force out the International Human Rights Art Festival from performing at one of the churches in his diocese, because of its gay and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

content. The church offered to host the event if these specific acts were rejected, but the director of the festival declined. In contrast, after Staten Island's 2020 Saint Patrick's Parade was heavily criticized for excluding supporters of gay rights, O'Hara planned to meet with the "hard line" parade organizer to urge "change in the future".

Retirement

On February 7, 2021, O'Hara reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 and submitted his letter of resignation as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York to Pope Francis, as required by

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. On April 7, 2021, the Pope accepted O'Hara's resignation. He has continued to serve as episcopal vicar of Staten Island, joined by Bishop

Peter John Byrne Peter John Byrne (born July 24, 1951) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York since 2014. Biography Early life Peter Byrne was born on July 24, 1951, ...

in 2022, and as vicar of planning for the archdiocese.

References