NOTRE DAME, Indiana – Rev. Edward Dennis O’Connor, C.S.C., 101, died at Holy Cross House, Notre Dame, Indiana, on May 30, 2024, after a short illness.
Fr. O’Connor was born on Oct. 28, 1922, in Denver, Colorado, to Edward James and Mary Alethaire (Spalding) O’Connor and is the oldest of nine children. He graduated from St. Justin High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1939. He was received into the Congregation of Holy Cross on August 15, 1940; and made his First Profession on September 15, 1941. Fr. O’Connor graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 1944. He attended Holy Cross College in Washington, D.C., from 1944 to 1948. He made his Final Profession on September 15, 1944, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 2, 1948, in Washington D.C. In 1950, Fr. O’Connor received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Institute Catholique in Paris. He remained there to study at l’Eau Vive until 1952, which was later recognized as a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Angelicum in Rome in 1960.
Fr. O’Connor was assigned to teach and prefect at the University of Notre Dame in 1952, where he remained until he retired in 1993. From 1959-62, he was named Director of Studies at Moreau Seminary, Notre Dame, Indiana. He studied at the University of Tubingen, Germany, in 1962 and 1963 and then returned to Moreau once again as Director of Studies until 1965. Fr. O’Connor served as President of the Mariological Society of America, a member of the National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and a member of the Board of Directors of Queen of Peace Ministries. Fr. O’Connor was also the author of over a dozen books, including: The Pentecostal Movement in the Catholic Church (1971), Blackfriars Summa, Volume 24 On the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (1974), Pope Paul VI and the Spirit (1978), The Catholic Vision (1992), Marian Apparitions Today (1997), and Listen to my Prophets (2011).
Fr. O’Connor was preceded in death by both his parents, sisters; Margaret Foster, Kathleen Roderique, and Sr. Maria O’Connor, and brothers; William O’Connor, Joseph O’Connor, Paul O’Connor, and Benjamin O’Connor. He is survived by sister Eileen Karl and many beloved nieces and nephews.
The Funeral Mass will be at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, Indiana. You may also join via live stream at https://funerals.holycrossusa.org.
Burial will be in the Holy Cross community cemetery at Notre Dame. Kaniewski Funeral Home, South Bend, is in charge of the arrangements.
Memorial contributions in support of the mission and ministries of the Congregation of Holy Cross can be made to: United States Province of Priests and Brothers, Office of Advancement, P.O. Box 765, Notre Dame, IN 46556-0765 or online at https://donate.holycrossusa.org.
