He completed his seminary studies at the University of Niagara, receiving his B.A. in 1944, and his M.A. in 1947.
Msgr. O’Leary was ordained in 1948 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden, NJ.
In 1955 he joined the United States Air Force and attended Chaplain School at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
He then served as a Catholic Chaplain in many places such as Bermuda, Bitburg, Germany (where he met Pope Paul VI in 1970), and finally in Riverside.
Msgr. O’Leary resided in the Diocese of San Bernardino since his retirement where he supplied at several parishes when needed and worked in the Canonical Services office in the Diocese.
Msgr. O’Leary is survived by two nieces Sheila (Dr. Christian) Heineken and Patricia (Thomas) Maguire and several great-nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his two brothers, Charles and John.
Mass of Christian Burial was held at St. Augustine Church in Bridgeport, CT on February 22 with interment at St. Michael’s Cemetery Mausoleum, Stratford, CT.
Bishop Gerald Barnes celebrated a Memorial Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral in San Bernardino on March 4 where many friends celebrated the life of Msgr. O’Leary.