A bishop’s ring is a weighty thing. It is a golden seal of office, a symbol of fidelity to the Church, and, in the case of Bishop Mark O’Connell of Albany, New York, a deeply personal masterpiece. And as it turns out, even the most sacred objects are not exempt from the potential perils of soapy dishwater and a kitchen sink.
It was during a quiet evening at the rectory kitchen next to Albany’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception that the symbol of his office vanished.
“I was finishing dinner — I cook my own dinner — so I must have washed my hands and [the ring] gets loose,” Bishop O’Connell recalled to The Evangelist, the newspaper of the Diocese of Albany. “I looked down at my finger; there’s no ring.”
The disappearance triggered an immediate, quiet panic. This was not a piece of jewelry that could be easily replaced at a local shop.
“It’s gold. It has St. Andrew, my saint on it, and it has my motto (Invenimus Messiam). It was made by the father of a personal friend,” he explained. “He was a goldsmith in Italy, and it was gifted to me right after my ordination
