At 6 feet, 4 inches tall, Father Stephen O’Gara was a big man, with a personality to match, said Father John Malone, a longtime friend.
Not pushy or loud, “but his presence was strong,” Father Malone said.
“His notion of being a pastor was a sense that was more than just providing sacraments and programs and education,” he said. “He became very involved in the community.”
Everywhere Father O’Gara served, he built lasting relationships with parishioners, Father Malone said.
Father O’Gara, 79, whose ministry included serving at Assumption in St. Paul from 2005 until his retirement in 2014, died Nov. 7 at Our Lady of Peace Hospice in St. Paul.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda will preside at a funeral Mass for Father O’Gara at 11 a.m. Nov. 18, with concelebrants including Father Paul Treacy, Assumption’s pastor. The Mass will be livestreamed via a link at the parish website home page, assumptionsp.org, and via watchitlivestream.com/assumption.
Father Malone, 83, said he knew Father O’Gara at the St. Paul Seminary, although the two were several years apart.
“We got to be pretty close friends,” Father Malone said, and stayed in touch throughout their years of ministry. “We spent a lot of time together,” as priests and as friends, including Father Malone driving Father O’Gara to Rochester when his friend participated in a research program there for six months.
Father Malone also spent a lot of time with Father O’Gara the week before he died. “He was just very relaxed and not worried about death,” he said. “And he said, ‘I’m ready.’” Father Malone said that’s how anyone would hope to die, “without any panic or anxiety.”
“So that’s a good memory for me,” Father Malone said.
Father O’Gara’s illness “progressed quickly over the last few days,” Father Treacy said in a message to Assumption parishioners.
Calling Father O’Gara “an incredible pastor and friend,” Father Treacy said, “We are grateful for the many blessings he brought to Assumption — all with his characteristic Irish passion and wit.”
Father Malone recalled Father O’Gara’s ministry as being “welcoming and inclusive.”
“He was a “very good preacher,” always adding “a human-interest story that would fit the Gospel.” And he had “a wonderful sense of humor.”
Father O’Gara had a cabin on an island in the western Twin Cities metro. Years ago, a friend learned Father O’Gara needed a new septic tank that required digging a hole and offered to help. So Father O’Gara “supervised” while his friend dug the hole, ladder in place, and at one point, Father O’Gara removed the ladder and said he’ll be back later. “He played some good tricks on people,” Father Malone said.
Father Treacy said he has heard “countless stories” of how Father O’Gara helped people through difficult times, “being a listening ear, giving wise advice, being compassionate, being at the bedside of a dying parent or grandparent.”
“But he also had great fun with the families who had kids, or kids who were celebrating their first Communion,” he said.
Father O’Gara served six parishes and two schools in the archdiocese, including as assistant priest of St. Olaf in Minneapolis from 1971 to 1973, and St. Thomas (now St. Thomas the Apostle) in Minneapolis from 1973 to 1979. He was pastor of St. Dominic in Northfield from 1979 to 1988, parochial administrator of Annunciation in Hazelwood from 1980 to 1988 and pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle from 1988 to 2005.
Father O’Gara was canonical administrator of St. Thomas School (now St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights) and Christ the King School (now Carondelet Catholic School) in Minneapolis from 2002 to 2005. He was parochial vicar of Assumption in St. Paul from 2005 to 2006, co-pastor and then pastor from 2006 to 2014.
Father O’Gara retired in July 2014, but returned to Assumption to serve as parochial administrator from July 1 to Sept. 25, 2017.
