Edward Joseph O'Donnell was the fifth Roman Catholic Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana

The Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana is an ecclesiastical division of the Catholic Church in the United States. The oldest church in the diocese is the parish church of St. Martinville, dating back to 1756. The diocese was created on January 11, 1918 from the western part of the Archdiocese of New...

.

Born in Saint Louis, Missouri, O'Donnell was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis

The Archdiocese of St. Louis is the Roman Catholic archdiocese that covers the City of St. Louis as well as the following Missouri counties: Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, Saint Charles, Saint Francois, Ste. Genevieve, St...

 on April 6, 1956. On December 6, 1982, Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

 appointed O'Donnell auxiliary bishop

Auxiliary bishop

An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...

of the Saint Louis Archdiocese, and he was ordained bishop on February 10, 1983. On November 8, 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop O'Donnell Bishop of the Lafayette Diocese in Louisiana. He retired on November 8, 2002 and died in Saint Louis, aged 77.