Father Vincent O'Reilly, a beloved priest of the Diocese of Sacramento for more than 62 years, died on March 22. He was 88. He resided most recently in Vacaville.
Bishop Jaime Soto will preside at a funeral Mass on Wednesday, April 9, at 11 a.m. in St. Joseph Church, located at 1791 Marshall Rd. in Vacaville. A reception will follow the Mass in the parish hall. The committal will be held at 3 p.m. at St. Mary Cemetery and Funeral Center, located at 6509 Fruitridge Rd. in Sacramento.
Father O'Reilly retired on July 1, 2007 after serving as the founding pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Vacaville for 15 years, since May 4, 1992.
Bishop Jaime Soto made the following statement upon the death of Father O'Reilly:
Every conversation with Father Vincent O’Reilly left me with a new insight to consider or a new challenge to ponder. He possessed boundless intellectual curiosity and undiminished pastoral zeal. Even when he raised critical questions, these emerged from a heart devoted to the Lord Jesus and the Church. Father Vincent was among the initial team of founders of the Sacramento Life Center, crafting a prophetic response to moral crisis of the Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, in 1973. The boldness of those efforts proved to be a catalyst of faith and charity that has thrived to this day. May the Good Shepherd embrace Father Vincent with his eternal mercy and joy.
Father O'Reilly grew up in County Cavan, Ireland. He attended St. Patrick's Seminary in Thurles, County Tipperary, and was ordained to the priesthood for service in the Diocese of Sacramento on June 10, 1962.
After his arrival in the diocese, he served as assistant pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Folsom from September 1962 to March 1965; of Holy Spirit Parish in Sacramento from March 1965 to September 1966; of Sacred Heart Parish in Sacramento from September 1966 to September 1968; and of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Carmichael from September 1974 to May 1977.
In September 1968, he was appointed chaplain of Loretto High School in Sacramento, where he taught for six years and he was in residence at St. Philomene Parish in Sacramento. During that time, from 1970 to 1974, he was also financial director of St. Francis High School in Sacramento.
During those years, he earned master's degrees in theology and religious studies from the University of San Francisco and Seattle University. He served terms as a members of the Diocesan Priests' Council, Diocesan Personnel Board, and was provincial representative on the National Federation of Priests' Councils for three years.
In the early 1970s, he was a member of a small group of clergy and laypeople who founded the Sacramento Life Center, a charitable organization committed to ensuring every woman has access to free or low-cost medical care and assistance, especially those who are pregnant with nowhere to turn.
In September 1977, he was appointed pastor of St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish in North Highlands, where he served until July 1986. During that time, St. Lawrence School was opened and a permanent church was built. Following that assignment he took a sabbatical year, during which he completed graduate studies at the Weston School of Theology and the Harvard Divinity School in Boston.
Upon his return to the diocese, he served as parochial administrator of St. Dominic Parish in Colfax from July 1987 to January 1988, and of St. Joseph Parish in Sacramento from January 1988 to November 1988. He was pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Auburn from November 1988 to May 1992.
In May 1992, he was appointed by Bishop Francis Quinn as the founding pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Vacaville. During this 15 years as pastor, a large parish center was built and a permanent church built and dedicated in 2004.
During his retirement, Father O'Reilly continued to study theology, Scripture and history, while residing in the Vacaville area, and also assisted with celebrating Masses at St. Joseph and St. Mary parishes in Vacaville.
Father O'Reilly is survived by two brothers: Carmelite Father Bernard O'Reilly of Balally, Dublin, Ireland, and Father Donal O'Reilly of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. He is also survived by two sisters: Mary Thorne (Harry) of Ardee, County Louth, Ireland, and Anne Kealy (Maurice) of Swords, County Dublin, Ireland.