Bishop Leo E. O’Neil, 8th Bishop of Manchester

From his very first days in Manchester, Bishop Leo began to display his own personality and his own approach to Episcopal ministry. Soon apparent were his sense of humor, his exceptional rapport with the young, and —another first for the diocese —a flair for poetry.

Photos: Bishop O’Neil official photo, his seal, a photo of him dedicating a monument to the victims of abortion and a picture of him high-fiving kids.
 

Listen to Monsignor Wilfrid H. Paradis talk about the eighth Bishop of Manchester and his penchant for poetry.
 

UPON THIS GRANITE

THE EIGHTH BISHOP OF MANCHESTER: LEO E. O’NEIL

Leo Edward O’Neil was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, on January 31, 1928. After twelve years of schooling in his hometown, he entered Maryknoll Junior Seminary in 1945, an institution at Clarks Summit in Pennsylvania dedicated primarily to the preparation of priests for the missions of the Maryknoll Order. Four years later, he spent one year (1949-1950) as a student at Saint Anselm College, Manchester. The next five years, 1950-1955, he prepared for the diocesan priesthood at the Seminary of Philosophy and the Grand Seminary in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Leo E. O’Neil was ordained to the priesthood on June 4, 1955, by the Most Reverend Christopher J. Weldon, bishop of Springfield, for ministry in that diocese. Father O’Neil’s ministry ranged from being a parish pastor, to teaching religion at Ursiline Academy and serving as chaplain to both the Sisters of the Good Shepherd and the Sisters of the Holy Cross.

In 1975, Father O’Neil was named diocesan director of both Family Life and Parish Councils. Shortly thereafter, these positions were combined into the Office of Pastoral Ministry. Given this array of responsibilities, it was not surprising that his selection as the first ever auxiliary bishop of Springfield was announced June 3, 1980. On August 22, he was ordained to the episcopacy in Saint Michael Cathedral in Springfield.

Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop O’Neil as coadjutor of the Diocese of Manchester on October 17, 1989, and was welcomed in Manchester at a ceremony in Saint Joseph Cathedral on November 30. Eight months later, on June 12, 1990, he succeeded Bishop Gendron automatically on the latter’s retirement.

From his very first days in Manchester, Bishop Leo began to display his own personality and his own approach to episcopal ministry. Soon apparent were his sense of humor, his exceptional rapport with the young, and —another first for the diocese —a flair for poetry.

Excerpt from Upon This Granite: Catholicism in New Hampshire, 1647-1997 by Msgr. Wilfrid H. Paradis. Reprinted with permission by the author.