Cardinal O’Connor Recalled in Prayers, Tributes at Masses

Cardinal John O’Connor was remembered in prayers and tributes at Masses throughout the day Sunday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where his body lay in state on the altar in a red velvet-lined casket.

“We celebrate his life today as we mourn his passing,” said Father John Ferry, who presided over the Sunday morning Mass.

Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, who heads the Catholic Archdiocese for the U.S. Military and was close to O’Connor, led an afternoon Mass dedicated to the “earlier priestly works of Father John O’Connor,” including his years as a teacher at St. James High School in his native Philadelphia, a chaplain in the Navy and Marines, and bishop of Scranton, Pa.

O’Connor, he recalled, once said: “First and foremost, the chaplain is there to save souls.”

A Mass held later in the day was presided over by Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, a close friend of O’Connor’s. Law thanked those in attendance, mentioning that O’Connor’s family members “are so consoled by the continual outpouring of the faithful here.”

Robert Brucato, an administrator at the archdiocese, recalled how when O’Connor was installed, he said the use of media was the greatest tool to spread the gospel.

“This way his words are recorded and have not blown away like dust,” Brucato said.

Outside the cathedral, hundreds of people lined up in the 90-degree heat to pay their respects to O’Connor, 80, who died Wednesday.

“He’ll be greatly missed,” said Leo Gualtieri. “We hope the next cardinal will follow in his footsteps.”

Bishop Edward Michael Egan of Bridgeport, Conn., 68, is said to be a leading contender to replace O’Connor. Bishop Henry Mansell, 62, of Buffalo, N.Y., and O’Brien, 60, have also been mentioned.

The archbishop of New York is considered the most influential Catholic post in the United States. O’Connor made an art of using the position to weigh in on the news of the day, often injecting himself into political debates on issues like abortion or attempting to heal rifts in controversies involving race.

Dignitaries expected to attend O’Connor’s funeral today include President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton; Vice President Al Gore; former President George Bush and his son, Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush.

O’Connor will be interred today in the crypt beneath the cathedral’s altar, where all the previous archbishops of New York are buried.