Bishop O’Donnell finding himself right at home here

Serving others in the spirit of Christ brings me joy. I enjoy people, and I’m so grateful for those whom God has placed in my life. And I hope they are grateful for me.”

Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell

A young mother had just introduced her two grade-school boys to Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell as they finished helping with the reception after this year’s Chrism Mass in Jefferson City.

A few seconds after their exchange, the younger son turned back around and said, “Wait! You’re the bishop?”

Bishop O’Donnell smiled and said, “Yes, I am.” To which the boy exclaimed, “Mom, it’s Ralph our Bishop!”

The boy’s mother shed light on the exchange.

“He plays Mass at home,” she said, “and he puts his arms out and says, ‘For Leo, our pope, and Ralph, our bishop,’ like in the Eucharistic Prayer. And he just realized who you are in relation to that.”

Another evening, after Bishop O’Donnell administered the Sacrament of Confirmation in St. Anthony of Padua Church in St. Anthony, a 6-year-old boy asked him, “Will you confirm me someday?”

“Oh, I bet I will,” the bishop replied with delight. “You’ll be taller, and I’ll be older.”

“Those are the moments when you realize the real joy the Lord offers us through the perspective of children,” observed Bishop O’Donnell, who came from Omaha, Nebraska, to become Jefferson City’s fifth bishop a year ago, on Oct. 28, 2025.

“I, too, was once a child,” he pointed out. “I remember those who taught me and my family. And to be a part of that in this way is a real gift.”

The no-longer-new bishop likened settling into his episcopal role this past year to an old Elvis Presley song: “Home is where the heart is, and my heart is anywhere you are. Anywhere you are is home.”

“When our hearts are focused on Christ, and we know he is present in all those we meet, then we can truly be at home with other people,” the bishop said.

“Jesus says, ‘Where your heart is, there your treasure lies,’” he noted. “So, finding the quality of home comes when we recognize the Lord in the people we serve.”

Every day on the job has deepened Bishop O’Donnell’s understanding that he was sent here by God — through his servant, Pope Leo, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit — to minister to all the souls of this diocese.

“And not just our parishes, but all the souls in our 38 counties,” he pointed out.

He referred to a phrase from the Rite of Ordination of a Bishop: “You will pattern your life after Christ, the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep and who is known by them.”

The more communities Bishop O’Donnell visits and the more people he meets, the more at home he feels.

“Because my heart is in serving the Lord,” he said, “and the treasure is in the people he’s called me to serve.”

“I call you friends”

There have been many firsts for Bishop O’Donnell over the past year: administering Confirmation, anointing new altars, presiding at diocesan rituals for the first time.

“But there’s no way I could have imagined what it would be like to ordain a man to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ!” he said. “Having the opportunity and the privilege of ordaining Father Jacob Hartman was truly a moment of tremendous joy.”

The bishop looks forward to many more ordinations, and he hopes his sense of unabashed wonder at the prospect of those unique moments, great and small, in his ministry never fades.

“Wherever I go, I hear people responding to the work of our priests and sharing the stories of the dedicated and heartfelt ministry of the presbyterate,” he stated.

“It’s incredible to witness God’s work through their generosity, through the service of our Diaconate community, the religious and lay faithful as I go from parish to parish.” he said. “It’s just amazing.”

All the while, he’s set about confidently but prudently carrying out the duties of his office: teaching, sanctifying and governing the people entrusted to his care.

He serenely acquiesces to whatever God will make of him.

“I’m still me,” he pointed out. “You take yourself with you wherever you go — all the grace, all the challenges, my life and my history, that’s all part of what God calls to this order.

“But, sacramentally, from the point of receiving Holy Orders as a bishop, there is by right and responsibility a certain newness,” he noted.

Such is the way of any vocation in life.

“How we encounter and experience the ups and downs of life helps to shape us,” he said. “God truly blesses that.”

Bishop O’Donnell realizes he will be called upon to make difficult decisions, and at times they may be unpopular.

“That’s part of the nature of leadership,” he said. “There are always moments that draw forth from us a decision that belongs solely to the one who holds the office.”

At the same time, even when decisions come down to the one person, “the consultation process is always important,” he said. “It is essential to be open to hearing the perspective of all those in the community. We are blessed to have structures in place to facilitate that process among our deaneries across the diocese.”

“We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us,” he noted. “We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses who have suffered and served in the Church for generations. I am confident that with their intercession and God’s grace, we will continue to thrive as we move forward together.”

He hopes never to lose his sense of humor.

“Levity doesn’t take away the serious quality of the work we do,” he said. “But not taking ourselves too seriously helps us to place our efforts into God’s hands, who desires that we all be saved.”

Challenges will come, “but back to the exhortation in the Rite of Ordination: ‘It is ours as successors to the Apostles to preach the Good News, in and out of season,’” he said.

“So, those difficult human challenges, struggles, those moments that would be considered ‘out of season’ — that gift is every bit as important as in the times when it’s easy,” he stated.

Seasons

A year ago, Bishop O’Donnell chose “Servite Domino in laetitia” — “Serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2) as his episcopal motto.

What could he possibly add to that now that he’s been a bishop for 12 months?

“Always,” he stated.

“That verse is a central concept in truly knowing the Lord,” he said. “Because a relationship with the Lord always calls us to service and joy in response to knowing him: ‘As I have done, so you must do.’”

Bishop O’Donnell was echoing Jesus’s instruction to his Apostles after washing their feet at the Last Supper (John 13).

“Gladness and service are a sure sign that the Holy Spirit is present,” the bishop stated. “It can’t be any clearer than that.”

The School Sisters of St. Francis at Bishop O’Donnell’s grade school taught him about the signature characteristics of the life, work and ministry of St. Francis of Assisi.

The bishop stated, “St. Francis found joy in all of creation, by trying to be a channel of God’s peace. Asking that God would make him an instrument for bringing goodness into the world. I hope I can imitate his dedicated simplicity in my ministry as bishop.

“Serving others in the spirit of Christ brings me joy,” he said. “I enjoy people, and I’m so grateful for those whom God has placed in my life. And I hope they are grateful for me.”

Rest for the weary

Between carrying out his responsibilities, Bishop O’Donnell enjoys walking several miles each day to clear his head, spending some time at the gym, and reading, especially history.

“In the past month or two, I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading about our diocese,” he said. “I love learning about the impact and influence of history.”

In addition, he enjoys visiting with family and friends, writing letters, sending note cards, making phone calls and otherwise “staying connected.”

He’s also working to learn conversational Spanish so he can better communicate with and minister to the sizable population of Catholics in the diocese for whom Spanish is the language of their heart.

He begins each day with silent prayer in the chapel of his residence.

“Time spent first quieting myself to be present with the Lord,” he said. “Then, first and foremost, holding up the needs of the faithful, the needs of all who live in our diocese, and asking for God’s grace in their lives.”

He prays for priests, especially those who are having challenges or difficulties, for people in leadership roles in the diocese, and for “all who are dedicated and committed to the life of the Church, and their families.”

He usually offers his daily Mass right after that, unless he is scheduled to celebrate Mass somewhere else in the diocese.

Pray, listen, act

Since his appointment last fall, several seasoned bishops counseled Bishop O’Donnell to listen intently to the people of his diocese and their priests.

“They encouraged me always to take the time to really hear people when important decisions need to be made,” he said.

He emphasized that such intentional deliberation on his watch “doesn’t mean we won’t take action.”

“But it does mean we’ll consult, get feedback, process and listen to one another as God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, helps shape and form our decisions,” he said.

He noted that the parishes and deaneries throughout the diocese are busy implementing the third year of the three-year diocesan pastoral plan discerned and adopted under his predecessor, Archbishop Shawn McKnight.

Bishop O’Donnell is excited about working with the clergy and laypeople of the diocese to prepare the next steps in response to the good work that has been completed, carrying out future action based on the themes that have surfaced from the implementation of the pastoral plan over these past years.

These themes point to important questions:

• “How is God calling us to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord and with one another?” and
• “How can we share our faith with others?”

Bishop O’Donnell wants to help forge greater unity within the Church and within society.

“How we interact with our neighbors and friends to bring Christ’s love to others,” he elaborated. “We’re being called to recognize our unity as disciples of Jesus Christ and to see no one else as ‘other’ than us.

“God wills that all be saved, and as disciples, we are to carry that message to all we meet,” he said.

He pointed to the rich history of the faith communities throughout this diocese receiving God’s gifts and putting them to good use for his Kingdom, from the early 1800s to the present day.

Seeing that as an indication of what is still to come, “I look forward to all that God has in store for us,” he said.

Praise and thanksgiving

A few weeks into his second year here, Bishop O’Donnell is more grateful than ever to God “for his unwavering faithfulness.”

“As St. Paul says so beautifully, ‘God will supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus,” the bishop noted.

He asks for renewed prayers for vocations in the Church, and for a great outpouring of “the peace the world cannot give.”

He pointed out that of the priests who have been ordained in this country in the past 20 years, on average more than 65 percent said they were invited to consider the Priesthood by trusted adults, faculty, neighbors, friends, parish priests and fellow Catholics.

“That’s why I encourage everyone to invite young men to think about whether God is calling them to the Priesthood, and young women to consider whether they’re being called to Religious Life,” he said. “I really believe the Lord continues to call, as he has ever called. But it can be hard to hear his voice.”

Bishop O’Donnell also asks all the faithful to pray “for the work in this part of God’s vineyard in Central and Northeastern Missouri that is ours.”

“And let’s pray for each other,” he requested, “that we all respond generously to all that God asks of us.”