Veteran pastor, local church leader and social welfare administrator Msgr. Patrick O'Brien died Aug. 28, after being hospitalized for two weeks with lung problems. The 74-year-old pastor of San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura since 1981 would have celebrated his golden jubilee as a priest in 2006.

"He was a very dedicated priest, and I think he was a very good and inspiring man," said Santa Barbara Region Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Curry. "He was also extremely intelligent and a man of profound spirituality, and very dedicated to the church and to his ministry. He enjoyed great respect from fellow priests and also from parishioners."

Msgr. O'Brien was director of the Catholic Welfare Bureau (today's Catholic Charities) for Santa Barbara and Ventura counties from 1966 to 1981. For much of that time, he also served as Episcopal Vicar for the archdiocese's two most northern counties. He also was a member of the Board of Consultors.

While pastor of San Buenaventura Mission in the mid-to-late '70s, Msgr. Francis Weber lived with Msgr. O'Brien. He said the then-regional director of Catholic Charities was hard working and rarely took a vacation. Later when the archdiocese's archivist was assigned to the San Fernando Mission, Msgr. O'Brien became pastor of the Ventura parish. In addition, he served as dean in the region.

"I think the most remarkable thing he ever did was to build the elementary school there," he said. "Because I never would have thought, and I had been there for a long time, that the parish, which isn't well off, could afford to do that. But he brought it alive, and it's a really nice, state-of-the-art school."

Msgr. Weber was also impressed by his friend's positive demeanor.

"I never saw him in a bad mood," he recalled. "He brought a smile to every conversation. He was a man who knew how to inject humor into serious things. He was a smiling priest, and that's a good thing. He was just an upbeat positive person, and the smile was part of his personality."

Starting in June 1986, Msgr. O'Brien served on then-Archbishop Roger Mahony's new cabinet-style administrative structure for the archdiocese. As head of the Secretariat for Community Services, he coordinated the activities of Catholic Charities, Catholic Social Services, Catholic Health Care, Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Pro-Life Activities and Detention Ministries.

In 1974, he received the papal honor of being named a "Chaplain of his Holiness" or Reverend Monsignor. And in 1995 he was named "Protonotary Apostolic," the highest degree of monsignor, currently held by only four priests in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Msgr. Patrick O'Brien was born in County Clare, Ireland, to a family that included three priests and two sisters. After completing his seminary studies at All Hollows College in Dublin, he was ordained June 17, 1956.

His first assignment was as associate pastor of St. Anselm Parish in Los Angeles, where he served from 1956 to 1964. In 1966, he earned a master's degree in social work from Loyola University of Chicago.

"He was definitely an Irish gentleman," said Handmaids of the Sacred Heart Sister Mary Rose Chinn. As director of religious education at San Buenaventura, she had worked with the pastor for 20 years. "He celebrated Mass very reverently, and he didn't like long homilies.

"When he delegated, he delegated," she added. "He didn't look over your shoulder making sure you were doing this or that. He also had a special ministry to the homebound and parishioners in convalescent facilities. Every first Friday he would go out to visit them. He was an excellent pastor."

Bishop Curry agreed. "He was very well organized, and he was a very strong man," he said. "I relied on him always for his good advice and support. I'll remember his sense of humor and good judgment. I will miss him terribly."

Viewing will be September 1, from noon until 6:30 p.m. at the Serra Center of San Buenaventura Mission, 211 E. Main St., Ventura. A Vigil Mass will be held at the Serra Center the same day at 6:30 p.m.

Cardinal Mahony will celebrate the Mass of Christian Burial Sept. 2, 11 a.m., at San Buenaventura Mission Church. Bishop Curry will preach the eulogy. The committal service will be at Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard.

-- R.W. Dellinger

Father Bernard Jennings, 90

Father Bernard J. Jennings died August 25 at the age of 90.

A native of Ireland, he was ordained for the Irish Province of the Dominicans in 1941. He was incardinated in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1980.

Father Jennings served as associate pastor at the following parishes: St. Philip the Apostle Church in Pasadena (1972 to '76), St. Anselm Church in Los Angeles (1980) and St. Elizabeth Church in Altadena (1981 to '84).

He also served as chaplain at St. Luke Hospital in Pasadena for three years in the late 1970s.

Father Jennings was born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1915. He attended Tallaght Seminary in County Dublin, and was ordained on July 20, 1941.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated September 1 at 7 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Church, 1849 N. Lake Avenue, in Altadena.

Father John Cunningham, 75

Father John Cunningham, former pastor of St. Joan of Arc Church in Los Angeles, died while in retirement in Bend, Oregon. He was 75 and had been retired since 1996, although he continued to assist local parishes.

During his almost four decades of service to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Father Cunningham was also administrator at Holy Cross Church in Moorpark, administrator pro tem at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Guadalupe, and chaplain at the Long Beach Naval Hospital.

He served as associate pastor at a number of other local parishes, including: Visitation, Christ the King and St. Cecilia in Los Angeles; St. Bartholomew in Long Beach; St. John Chrysostom in Inglewood; St. Mary Magdalen in Camarillo and St. Rose of Lima in Simi Valley.

Father Cunningham was born in County Donegal, Ireland, and attended St. Patrick Seminary and St. Patrick's College. He was ordained on June 10, 1956.

AMemorial Mass will be celebrated Sept. 6 at 11 a.m. at St. Joan of Arc Church, 11534 Gateway Blvd. in Los Angeles.