Michael O'Connor

Michael O'Connor, S.J. (September 27, 1810 – October 18, 1872) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States and a member of the Society of Jesus. He served twice as bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania (1843 to early 1853 and late 1853 to 1860). O'Connor served briefly as bishop of the Diocese of Erie in Pennsylvania for several months in 1853.

Biography

Early life Michael O'Connor was born on September 27, 1810, in Cobh, near the city of Cork, in County Cork, Ireland, then part of United Kingdom. His younger brother, James O'Connor, would serve as the first bishop of Omaha from 1885 to 1891. Michael O'Connor received his early education in Cobh, where he attended the parish school of the Cathedral of Cloyne. When O'Connor reached age 14, Bishop William Coppinger of the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne and Ross sent him to France to begin his studies for the priesthood.

After finishing in France, O'Connor entered the Urban College of the Propaganda in Rome. After his ordination, the diocese appointed O'Connor as vice-rector of the Pontifical Irish College, the seminary for Irish students in Rome.

In 1839, Patrick Kenrick's brother, Bishop Francis Kenrick, invited O'Connor to join the faculty of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. O'Connor accepted the offer and arrived in Philadelphia later that year. He immediately took the chair of theology at St. Charles.

Bishop of Erie (1853) On July 29, 1853, O'Connor was appointed the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Erie by Pope Pius IX. he began teaching theology there. He was also appointed socius (counselor) to the Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in the United States, a position in which he remained until his death. O'Connor took a special interest in the spiritual welfare of African Americans, and delivered lectures in many parts of the United States and Canada.

His health failing, O'Connor was sent to rest at Woodstock College in Woodstock, Maryland, in the spring of 1872. He died there on October 18, 1872, at age 62. He is buried in the Jesuit cemetery at Woodstock.