South End Bids Farewell to Cathedral's Msgr. O'Leary After 18 Years

Monsignor Kevin J. O'Leary celebrated his final Mass as rector of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Sunday, April 26, after 18 years leading the mother church of the Archdiocese of Boston.

The Mass at 1400 Washington St. was attended by parishioners, clergy and public officials, including Mayor Michelle Wu and former Mayor Raymond Flynn. An outdoor reception followed at the Cathedral entrance on Washington Street.

Archbishop Richard G. Henning, who announced the transition last month, credited O'Leary with overseeing the Cathedral's major restoration and expanding its role in the community. "Under his leadership, the cathedral has become a beacon of hope in the community providing a pastoral home to Catholics and a place that serves the neediest and people from every walk of life," Henning said in a statement published by The Boston Pilot.

O'Leary, a South Boston native, was ordained in 1995 and was named Monsignor by Pope Francis in 2019. He will transition to Senior Priest of the Archdiocese of Boston.

Father Christopher K. O'Connor has been appointed the next rector of the Cathedral and is expected to assume the role this summer.