He brought those qualities with him when he came to St. Paul the Apostle Church in Spartanburg in 2009 and was tasked with building a new church. At that point, parishioners had been on folding chairs in a gym for nearly 20 years. 

So Father Gahan worked to raise up a physical church while spiritually energizing his new flock, one soul at a time.

Beaming Building

Parishioner Steve Miller said Father Gahan got everyone involved in building the church.

“He was aware of the smallest of people,” Miller said.

Then he recounted when young Jake Armstrong thought he wanted to be an architect.

“He was about 12 or 13 at the time,” Miller said. “Father Gahan found out about it, and he invited Jake to sit in on a meeting with the architects,” which was impressive to a youngster still forming his faith.

Even more impressive was Father Gahan’s reverence during the consecration of the new altar — part of the church dedication ceremony on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception in 2013.

Jake and his brother Andrew served as altar boys, and they saw Father Gahan’s deep love of the Lord up close, according to their father, Deacon Jody Armstrong.

“He was so reverent during the consecration that he had a profound effect on their faith,” Deacon Armstrong said.

“He looks at the Eucharist so lovingly and so long; it’s beautiful,” Tommy Leong said. “His faith is so palpable. … He believes so strongly that when you’re around him, you believe.”

That is evangelization. It comes so naturally to Father Gahan; it is part of who he is.

Susan Schweizer recalled how Father Gahan got the entire parish involved before construction workers put the final beam in place. 

“He invited everybody to write their name on the beam,” Schweizer said.

Deacon Armstrong said he let everyone write a prayer on the beam, too. Now, all those prayers continue to beam down on parishioners at every Mass.

Father Gahan said he felt blessed to be a part of the church construction process.

“The whole parish was involved with that,” Father Gahan said. “I just think the Blessed Mother wanted that for her Son.”

He had parishioners bury Miraculous Medals all around the church before crews poured the foundation.

“The crew chief would not let them pour any concrete unless they put Miraculous Medals in first,” Father Gahan said. “And he wasn’t even Catholic.”

Father Gahan even got bricklayers involved.

“We got a little bit better grade (Miraculous Medals) for them to take home to their wives or their girlfriends,” he said, and they had never heard of putting Miraculous Medals in the foundation.

Father Gahan even remembers a moment when everyone saw sunlight reflecting off a medal in the foundation.

“That’s just the Blessed Mother checking in,” he told them, adding that parishioners prayed a novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. “It was unreal. It was so uplifting. What a great blessing it was to be a part of that.”

Parishioners thought the same of their former pastor.

“He evangelized our family,” Miller said. “There is something about Father Gahan that in our life, he is a part of.”

Miller said Father Gahan was relatable while maintaining the dignity of his priesthood.

“You could joke with him. He had a beautiful balance, and that is unique,” Miller said.

Husband, father, leatherneck, priest

Father Gahan is unique because he has incredible life experiences on which to draw.

He grew up a cradle Catholic in a family that stressed good manners and proper etiquette. His father was deployed in the Pacific Theater during World War II, choosing to stay in the military after the war. For a time, the Gahans were stationed in Germany, where they saw people struggling to survive in the ruins.

Colleen Gahan McFall, his sister, documents the family’s early years and beyond in her book, From Leatherneck to Roman Collar: The Life and Times of Rev. Col. Timothy Mannix Gahan, USMC (Ret) (available at most online retailers).

She describes how her brother Tim followed their father’s path into a military career. Tim Gahan became a machine gunner on a helicopter during the Vietnam War, and he saw death and incredible suffering in 1967 while pulling soldiers out of hot spots.

He served in the Corps from 1965 to 1994 and retired as vice president of Marine Corps University while living at Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia. After retiring, he went to work as the business manager for the North American District of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania, before moving to Columbia. He entered Pope St. John XXIII Seminary in Massachusetts in 2003.

Gahan was married to the late Mary Patricia “Trisha” Gahan for 14-and-a-half years. McFall describes how Tim agonized as Trisha “suffered greatly for many years from a debilitating and painful disease that finally took her life when she was only 35.” She died in 1985.

Trisha’s death left Tim with the responsibility of raising two children, Terrence and Kathleen.

“It’s an unusual experience to have your father go through the process of seminary and becoming a priest, but I can’t think of anyone better suited to do it,” Kathleen said in a previous interview with The Miscellany. “His relationship with God is something everyone can aspire to, it’s incredible. He has a good understanding of people having been in the military and working in different areas. He can relate to people of all different backgrounds.”

“He’s a good father, both priestly and biologically, and they emanate from the same source — redemptive suffering,” Miller said. “He is a beautiful example of fatherhood. He’s got that strength. … And he’s got a very soft heart.”

Leong also sees that in Father Gahan.

“He was a husband and a single parent. He knows all the personal struggles people bring to life. He has that experience … that depth of authenticity. It is his gift and his charism,” Leong said.

Father Gahan said that people quickly “get a feel about their priest. Some are reserved and quiet. Others are a little more outgoing and vivacious,” he said. “I think that people get a sense rather quickly whether that priest is a man of God. They can sense, ‘This guy is going to help me. He is going to help me get to God. … He’s living his vocation.’”

He truly wants to help people grow in their faith, and the depth of reverence for the Lord starts in the sacristy before every Mass, Father Gahan said.

“You offer this Mass as if it’s your first, your last and your only one,” he said, explaining the importance of bringing Christ to people. “It’s game time. Play like a champion today. It reminds you of what you are doing, and you better bring [your] game.”

Every Mass is bigger than any Super Bowl; Father Gahan lives this, and his parishioners know it. He said he prays that when people see him at the altar, they sense “that guy believes what he’s doing. … He does believe in the presence of the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus.”

Suffering servant

His experiences with suffering have helped many others get through tough times.

“We’re all going to suffer in this life. It can serve a useful purpose. It all depends on how you use the suffering,” Father Gahan said. “Look, Lord, this can make me stronger,” he said about agony and angst. “If I can join my suffering to yours, Lord … You’ve given me this cross, Lord. Give me the help.”

Reaching out to Christ, and understanding what he went through for us, draws us closer to God, Father Gahan said. “Christ suffered for us. People don’t pay enough attention to that.”

We should; it will strengthen our faith and change the way we see the Mass. It will change the way we live.

“How do you evangelize?” he asked. “We start living the Christian life, and people see that … and they say, ‘I kind of want some of that.’”

This priest of God is now retired and living the Christian life in Lockhart, Texas, which is just south of Austin.

He’s comfortable in his own skin, and people are drawn to that. It gives him a chance to evangelize. In Texas, that comes with a heaping helping of barbecue.

“They call Lockhart the barbecue capital of Texas,” Father Gahan said. “It’s right along the Chisholm Trail.”

These days, that trail drive is a bit different. Father Gahan has replaced Chisholm, and he’s driving souls to Jesus.

+ Portions of Father Gahan’s interview will be aired on Catholic Radio in South Carolina throughout May. Listen to the full interview on the MediaTrix app, or visit catholicradioinsc.com.