MCKINLEY PARK — Monsignor Richard O’Donnell, the oldest priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago and one of the neighborhood’s most treasured residents, has died.
He was 105 years old.
O’Donnell died Monday in the rectory at Blessed Sacrament Parish, 3528 S. Hermitage Ave., where he had lived for the last three decades.
“He was a wonderful man and with a wonderful personality,” said Jim Kozy, one of O’Donnell’s best friends. “For years, when I’d see old parishioners, they’d ask, ‘Is Father O’Donnell still there?’ I’d say, ‘Yep, he’s 103… 104… 105…’”
The last time the storied priest threw out the first pitch at a White Sox game in 2009 — around his 100th birthday — Kozy helped O’Donnell to the mound.
O'Donnell was a lifelong White Sox fan
Born in Chicago on Oct. 15, 1910, O’Donnell attended St. Bridget and St. Basil schools, later enrolled at Quigley Preparatory Seminary and graduated from the University of St. Mary of the Lake.
Archbishop George Cardinal Mundelein ordained O’Donnell a priest on April 27, 1935.
From 1935-41, O’Donnell served as assistant pastor at St. Gabriel Parish. Over the next two decades, O’Donnell served at Our Lady of Peace Parish on Jeffery Boulevard, St. Bernadette Parish in Evergreen Park and St. Ita Parish in Chicago.
In 1963, O’Donnell was named pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel, where he served until his retirement in 1981.
O’Donnell received the title “Monsignor” in 2010.
Visitation for O’Donnell will take place from 2-8 p.m. Friday at Blessed Sacrament Parish, 3528 S. Hermitage Ave. and continue from 9-10 a.m. Saturday. A funeral mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.
O’Donnell will be buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
