John Joseph O’Hara

John Joseph O'Hara (born February 7, 1946) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church, who served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 2014 to 2021.

Biography

Early life

O'Hara was born on February 7, 1946, in Jersey City, New Jersey, and was educated in a Catholic elementary school in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and at Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey, New Jersey. He earned a Bachelor of English degree from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. While a student, O'Hara was active in the school's radio station, WSOU, serving as news director during the 1966-67 academic year. 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, included St. Charles Parish' as parochial vicar from 1984 to 1992, and St. Teresa's Parish from 1992 to 2012 as both parochial vicar and pastor. 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. In contrast, after Staten Island's 2020 Saint Patrick's Parade was heavily criticized for excluding supporters of LBGTQ+ 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 New York to Pope Francis, as required by canon law. On April 7, 2021, the pope accepted O'Hara's resignation. He has continued to serve as episcopal vicar of Staten Island and as vicar of planning for the archdiocese.