BAY ST. LOUIS – Father Malcolm Mark O’Leary, SVD, age 92, died on May 25, 2022. He was born April 21, 1930 to the late John O’Leary and Clementine Conway O’Leary in Sulphur Springs, Mississippi. He was one of twelve children and attended Sacred Heart School in Camden, Mississippi; as well as, Holy Ghost School in Jackson.

Father O’Leary began his formal educational preparation for the priesthood in September of 1947 at St. Augustine Seminary in Bay St. Louis. Upon the completion of his priesthood preparation, Father O’Leary entered novitiate training in Techny, Illinois on Sept. 8, 1951 and took his first vows in 1953. On May 4, 1961, under the authority of Archbishop Vagnazzi, Father O’Leary was ordained into the priesthood at St. Augustine Seminary in Bay St. Louis.

In the Diocese of Jackson, Father O’Leary served at Sacred Heart Greenville from 1962-1964; St. Francis Yazoo City as associate pastor from 1967-1969 and pastor from 1969-1972; Holy Ghost Jackson from 1972-1980; Immaculate Conception Clarksdale from 1980-1984; and St. Mary Vicksburg from 2008-2018.
He retired from active ministry in 2019 and was a resident at the Woodland Village Nursing Home in Diamondhead.

Father O’Leary was preceded in death by his parents, John O’Leary and Clementine Conway, six brothers, John Frank O’Leary, Patrick Henry O’Leary, Lawrence “Smitty” O’Leary, James Kermit O’Leary, Eldridge “Tommy” O’Leary and Alfred Wendell O’Leary; three sisters, Selena O’Leary, Annie Mae O’Leary and Mary O’Leary.

He is survived by two brothers, James T. O’Leary of Alabama and Bernard O’Leary of California; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. His departure will be felt by many, but family and friends are comforted in knowing that he has now joined the faithfully departed.

His Funeral Mass was held June 1 in the chapel of St. Augustine Seminary in Bay St. Louis.