Msgr. Thomas O’Connell; Longtime Area Priest

Rev. Msgr. Thomas O’Connell, the founding pastor of St. Jude the Apostle Catholic church in Westlake Village, died Thursday after a short illness. He was 78.

O’Connell, an Irish immigrant who came to the United States in 1946, founded the church 29 years ago on a rock-strewn field. The parish now includes 4,000 families.

The priest, who became Pastor Emeritus of St. Jude after his 1995 retirement, was recalled as a cheerful man who was often the first one to visit sick parishioners in the hospital. He loved golf and was partial to the Gaelic football and hurling of his homeland, which he followed via television at local Irish pubs.

“I think that people knew him for his humility and warmth more than anything else,” said Nola Ching of La Crescenta, a niece by marriage. “He was so loved that no matter where he went in the community after he retired, people would stop him and say, ‘Do you remember me? You baptized my child.’ ”

Before O’Connell founded St. Jude, he served as an assistant pastor at many churches throughout the Los Angeles area, including St. Alphonsus, St. Sebastian and St. Thomas. He also served at churches in Long Beach, Monrovia, and Manhattan Beach.

In 1968, he was appointed pastor of St. Agatha in Los Angeles. Pope John Paul II named him a Prelate of Honor with the title monsignor in 1984.

O’Connell’s survivors include his brother and sister-in-law, William and Ellen O’Connell; sister-in-law Peggy O’Connell, all of Tipperary, Ireland; and nine nieces.

A vigil Mass will be held for O’Connell at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Jude, at 32032 W. Lindero Canyon Road. There will be a 7:30 p.m. vigil service Monday as well.

Cardinal Roger Mahony will preside over a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. on Tuesday at St. Jude. Burial will follow in Assumption Cemetery in Simi Valley.