William G. Connare
Connare was born in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of three children of James J. and Nellie T. (O'Connor) Connare. His parents were Irish immigrants who came to the United States from County Galway and County Kerry, respectively. His father worked as an engineer for Nabisco, located in the East End. Bishop Connare was a first cousin once removed of Mother Mercedes O'Connor, who was the first sister recruited by St. Katherine Drexel into the order of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and the first successor to Mother Katherine. Bishop Connare remained very close to the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament throughout his life. In 1917, he enrolled at the newly opened St. Lawrence School. After graduating from Duquesne University Preparatory School, he studied at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He graduated from Duquesne in 1932, and then attended St. Vincent College in Latrobe, where he earned a Master's degree in 1934. He began his studies for the priesthood at St. Vincent Seminary. Connare was ordained a priest by Bishop Hugh C. Boyle on June 14, 1936. His first assignment was as a curate at St. Canice Church in Knoxville. He was transferred to the Cathedral of St. Paul in Oakland in 1937, where he remained for twelve years. In 1949, he was appointed administrator of St. Richard Church, an African American parish in the Hill District. He became both pastor of St. Richard's and a domestic prelate in 1955. At St. Richard's, Connare helped organize the Catholic Interracial Council of Pittsburgh in 1953. He was also a member of the Urban League of Pittsburgh and the board of the Pittsburgh branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In addition to his pastoral duties, he served as diocesan director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and as vicar for religious. On February 23, 1960, Connare was appointed the second Bishop of Greensburg by Pope John XXIII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 4 from Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi, with Archbishop John F. Dearden and Bishop Richard H. Ackerman serving as co-consecrators, at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. He founded the diocesan newspaper, "The Catholic Accent", in 1961 and presided over the first diocesan synod that same year. He also expanded educational programs in parishes and opened the diocesan office of Catholic Charities. Between 1962 and 1965, Connare attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome. He addressed the Council on behalf of the American bishops on the subject of the Divine Office and breviary. Shortly before the close of the Council, he reorganized the diocesan liturgical commission and established committees to facilitate such reforms as the change of the language of Mass from Latin to English. His self-proclaimed greatest accomplishment was the renovation of Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, which was completed in 1972, so that it could accommodate the new liturgical reforms. In 1980, Connare attended the funeral of Archbishop Óscar Romero in San Salvador, where 40 people were killed during a violent outbreak at the Mass. He also served as Episcopal Moderators of the National Catholic Committee on Scouting from 1961 to 1970 and was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award by the Boy Scouts of America in 1971. After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Connare resigned as Bishop of Greensburg January 20, 1987. He served as apostolic administrator of the diocese until the installation of his successor, Bishop Anthony G. Bosco, on June 30 of that year. He later died at Westmoreland Regional Hospital as a result of complications from anemia, aged 83. In August 2018, it was revealed that there were numerous reports of sex abuse in the Greensburg Diocese during Connare's time as Bishop.
Later life and death
He served as Bishop of Greensburg from 1960 to 1987.