The Rev. Stephen J. O'Donnell, 74, a highly decorated veteran of World War II and friend of the down-and-out on Chicago's Skid Row, died Sunday in Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
A nephew of former Chicago Mayor Edward J. Kelly, Father O'Donnell was awarded three Bronze Stars for bravery during combat as a chaplain for Gen. George Patton during World War II. He tended the wounded and dying on Normandy Beach in France on the day after the Allied invasion of Europe and was wounded and decorated for his service during the Battle of the Bulge.
After being promoted to the rank of major, Father O'Donnell returned to Chicago and helped veterans adjust to civilian life. He then went to Visitation Church at 843 W. Garfield.
After serving at St. Victor's in Calumet City, he was transferred to old St. Patrick's Church at 718 W. Adams and helped the poor and homeless of the Near West Side.
In 1962, a thief broke into the rectory and fatally slashed the housekeeper. Armed with his Army pistol, Father O'Donnell met the killer in a darkened hallway.
"I told him to stop because I did not want to shoot him," Father O'Donnell said at the time. "But he kept coming toward me and he had three knives. So I had to shoot."
He shot the intruder in the thigh to stop him. "I had no right to take the man's life," he explained later.
A nephew of former Chicago Mayor Edward J. Kelly, Father O'Donnell was awarded three Bronze Stars for bravery during combat as a chaplain for Gen. George Patton during World War II. He tended the wounded and dying on Normandy Beach in France on the day after the Allied invasion of Europe and was wounded and decorated for his service during the Battle of the Bulge.
After being promoted to the rank of major, Father O'Donnell returned to Chicago and helped veterans adjust to civilian life. He then went to Visitation Church at 843 W. Garfield.
After serving at St. Victor's in Calumet City, he was transferred to old St. Patrick's Church at 718 W. Adams and helped the poor and homeless of the Near West Side.
In 1962, a thief broke into the rectory and fatally slashed the housekeeper. Armed with his Army pistol, Father O'Donnell met the killer in a darkened hallway.
"I told him to stop because I did not want to shoot him," Father O'Donnell said at the time. "But he kept coming toward me and he had three knives. So I had to shoot."
He shot the intruder in the thigh to stop him. "I had no right to take the man's life," he explained later.
The Rev. Stephen J. O'Donnell, 74, a highly decorated veteran of World War II and friend of the down-and-out on Chicago's Skid Row, died Sunday in Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
A nephew of former Chicago Mayor Edward J. Kelly, Father O'Donnell was awarded three Bronze Stars for bravery during combat as a chaplain for Gen. George Patton during World War II. He tended the wounded and dying on Normandy Beach in France on the day after the Allied invasion of Europe and was wounded and decorated for his service during the Battle of the Bulge.
After being promoted to the rank of major, Father O'Donnell returned to Chicago and helped veterans adjust to civilian life. He then went to Visitation Church at 843 W. Garfield.
After serving at St. Victor's in Calumet City, he was transferred to old St. Patrick's Church at 718 W. Adams and helped the poor and homeless of the Near West Side.
In 1962, a thief broke into the rectory and fatally slashed the housekeeper. Armed with his Army pistol, Father O'Donnell met the killer in a darkened hallway.
"I told him to stop because I did not want to shoot him," Father O'Donnell said at the time. "But he kept coming toward me and he had three knives. So I had to shoot."
He shot the intruder in the thigh to stop him. "I had no right to take the man's life," he explained later.
A nephew of former Chicago Mayor Edward J. Kelly, Father O'Donnell was awarded three Bronze Stars for bravery during combat as a chaplain for Gen. George Patton during World War II. He tended the wounded and dying on Normandy Beach in France on the day after the Allied invasion of Europe and was wounded and decorated for his service during the Battle of the Bulge.
After being promoted to the rank of major, Father O'Donnell returned to Chicago and helped veterans adjust to civilian life. He then went to Visitation Church at 843 W. Garfield.
After serving at St. Victor's in Calumet City, he was transferred to old St. Patrick's Church at 718 W. Adams and helped the poor and homeless of the Near West Side.
In 1962, a thief broke into the rectory and fatally slashed the housekeeper. Armed with his Army pistol, Father O'Donnell met the killer in a darkened hallway.
"I told him to stop because I did not want to shoot him," Father O'Donnell said at the time. "But he kept coming toward me and he had three knives. So I had to shoot."
He shot the intruder in the thigh to stop him. "I had no right to take the man's life," he explained later.
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