Born in the "Boxer City," Brockton, on Sept. 19, 1965, Father Connor was one of the children of the late Myles and Sarah (Coyne) Connor. He was raised in Marshfield and recalls his early relationship with the parish priests of his home parish, St. Ann. He named the late Fathers Patrick Gilmore and Leo Cormier as influences on his sense of priestly vocation.

He attended local schools of Marshfield, graduating from its high school in 1983 and subsequently graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice.

His father had been a police officer in Milton, and in some way, the "law enforcement gene" proved dominant. He served as an officer in the police department of Marshfield for 10 years before the vocational tug he had experienced earlier pulled him towards the priesthood.

In 1995, after a period of reflection and a Cursillo Retreat at Stonehill College, he entered St. John Seminary. Six years later, after philosophy and theology study, he was ordained to the priesthood at Holy Cross Cathedral by Bernard Cardinal Law on May 26, 2001, a member of the first class of priests of the new millennium for the archdiocese.

His first assignment was a brief one, two days shy of a year as a parochial vicar at St. Francis Xavier Parish, Weymouth. He was even more briefly a parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish, Marlborough, from June to October 2002.

From the busyness of the parish, he was appointed to a most difficult responsibility, that of delegate of the archbishop for investigations. This made him a member of a team of clergy, religious, and laity who were tasked with investigating allegations made against clergy by victims of clergy abuse.

This took a great deal of pastoral sensitivity with the victims, as well as a regard for the accused. For six years, until June 2008, he was involved in this certainly challenging, one could more rightly say, trying time, in the history of the archdiocese. During these years, he saw the less than noble side of some members of clergy and the damage that was caused to the victims. Some nights, he might have wished he were back clocking speedsters on Route 139 in Marshfield.

In June 2008, he was named pastor at St. Ann Parish, Dorchester, territory not completely unfamiliar as his mother had been a Dorchester native. He remained at the Dorchester parish until August 2013, when he was moved closer to Marshfield, now as administrator of Sacred Heart Parish, Weymouth, and St. Thomas More Parish in neighboring Braintree. It was a bit of a homecoming at Weymouth, as he had served there as a deacon during his final year at St. John Seminary prior to ordination.

In 2015, he was named pastor of both parishes and was responsible for guiding both towards a merger, which was finalized in 2022, when the new parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace was established from the two previous parishes.

Accomplishing a merger requires not a little patience for both pastor and people and a willingness to listen and respond to each other. Bridging parishes in two separate municipalities adds another dimension to the challenge. Father Connor succeeded.

Father Connor had been experiencing health issues and asked for "an early retirement," which Archbishop Henning granted effective June 24, 2026.

In his retirement, he will be in residence at St. Theresa of Avila Rectory, West Roxbury, and will, as he is able, assist in the two West Roxbury parishes, St. Theresa and St. John Chrysostom, assigned to Father John Connolly.