Top photo caption: Bishop O’Connell is shown greeting the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV in January. Bishop O’Connell led a pilgrimage to Rome for priests of the Diocese as part of the conclusion of the Holy Year. Vatican Media photo
Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., offered his congratulations to Pope Leo XIV on receiving the 38th Annual Liberty Medal on July 3, 2026. The medal was bestowed by the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
The award recognizes the Holy Father’s lifelong work promoting religious liberty and freedom of conscience and expression around the world, ideals enshrined by America’s founders in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.