Dennis Patrick O'Neil (January 16, 1940 – October 17, 2003) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served 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 Diocese of San Bernardino in California from 2001 until his death in 2003

Biography

Early life

Born on January 16, 1940, in

Fremont, Nebraska Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Dodge County, Nebraska, Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 27,141 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it t ...

, Dennis O'Neil grew up in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. He attended St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California. O'Neil was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest for the

Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles (, ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the southern coastal portion of the U.S. state of California. The archdiocese's cathedra is in Los Angeles, and the arc ...

on April 30, 1966. After serving pastoral positions in the archdiocese from 1966 to 1979, he spent five years on a missionary assignment in the Diocese of Juneau in Alaska. After returning to Los Angeles, O'Neil became administrator and pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in 1984. He served on the archdiocesan clergy personnel board from 1990 to 1998, and was appointed pastor of St. Emydius Parish in Lynewood, California in 1998.

Auxiliary Bishop of San Bernardino

On January 16, 2001, O'Neil was appointed by

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 ...

as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino and

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 ...

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically Anglicization, anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home t ...

. He was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

on March 27, 2001. Bishop Gerald Barnes was his principal consecrator, and Bishops

Gabino Zavala Gabino Zavala (born September 7, 1951) is a Mexican-American Catholic former prelate who served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1994 until 2012. He resigned at the request of Pope Benedict XVI after admitting he wa ...

and Stephen Blaire were his principal co-consecrators. Dennis O'Neil died of an apparent

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on October 17, 2003, at the age of 63.

References

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino People from Fremont, Nebraska St. John's Seminary (California) alumni 1940 births 2003 deaths 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Religious leaders from California Catholics from Nebraska 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests {{US-RC-bishop-stub