Paulist Fr. David O'Brien was born May 21, 1928, a son of Arthur O'Brien and Mary Driscoll O'Brien. He was a native of Hartford, CT, and attended St. Bonaventure University.
He made his first promises with the Paulist Fathers on Sept. 8, 1951.
He was ordained a priest on May 3, 1956, by Cardinal Francis Spellman at our mother church, Church of St. Paul The Apostle, in New York. He was one of 17 men ordained that day, the largest class thus far in our community's history.
A longtime Catholic campus minister, Fr. O'Brien served from 1995 to 2004 as director of St. Thomas More Newman Center at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH.
Before going to Columbus, Fr. O'Brien served as a campus minister at: University Catholic Center at The University of Texas at Austin (1956 to 1968); the University of Connecticut (1969 to 1970); the University of California at Santa Barbara (Summer 1972 and Summer 1976); and the University of Colorado at Boulder (1977 to 1984).
He also served as pastor of St. Austin Catholic Parish (1984 to 1990) and the Paulist Center in Boston (1992 to 1994).
Additionally, he spent many years in Paulist Fathers leadership, serving as our vice president (1990 to 1994) and first consultor (1970 to 1977) and as a general council member.
After entering senior ministry status in 2004, he continued to reside in Columbus.
Fr. O'Brien passed into eternal life the morning of Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2016, at the age of 88.
Paulist Fr. David O'Brien as a young priest