ROCHESTER — An important transition is approaching for Father Gary Tyman — yet it may not be noticeable to most.
Father Tyman, 75, will attain senior status in late June, stepping down from his longtime pastorate at Our Lady of Lourdes in Brighton and St. Anne in Rochester. However, he will remain at the two parishes, assisting in those communities as well as at neighboring Our Lady Queen of Peace and St. Thomas More parishes.
“My plan is to basically continue working full time, but I’m retiring from the administration,” Father Tyman explained. “I look forward to being able to just focus on the pastoral work.”
Father Gary Tyman left a career as an attorney to become priest of Rochester Diocese
Father Tyman is a native of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Phelps, Ontario County. He earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure University and law degree from Cornell University, then practiced law for a few years in Phelps and Canandaigua.
During that period, he remained highly involved in parish life — as he had been as a youth and in college — and began thinking about entering the Diocese of Rochester’s permanent diaconate program. Unsure if he could adequately balance being a full-time lawyer and part-time deacon, he eventually recognized a call to full-time ministry as a priest.
“When that thought entered my head, suddenly a light went on, and I could see my life in a way I hadn’t before — ‘Yes, this fits,’” Father Tyman recalled. “I had a real sense of God saying yes.”
He attended seminary at the American College of The Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Matthew H. Clark on April 11, 1986, at Henrietta’s Church of the Good Shepherd.
Father Tyman was then parochial vicar at St. Ambrose, Rochester (1986-90); Catholic campus minister at the University of Rochester (1990-99); parochial vicar at Church of the Assumption, Fairport (1999-2001); pastor of Holy Rosary and Most Precious Blood, Rochester (2001-05); and pastor of Our Lady of Mercy, Greece (2005-08).
Diocese of Rochester priest says that helping the faithful find God is ‘very satisfying’
Father Tyman began his lengthy tenure at Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Anne in 2008, serving as sacramental minister for the clustered parishes before becoming their pastor in 2012. He celebrated the 40th year of his priesthood, along with his impending senior status, during receptions at the two churches on April 11 and 12.
Looking ahead, Father Tyman said he is eager to continue being a spiritual guide in the lives of the faithful.
“I’ve found that very satisfying, and it’s something I think I’ve got to offer to people,” he remarked. “I enjoy helping people find God in their lives.”
Assisting others in this way has produced a positive effect on him as well, he observed.
“The biggest surprise for me was that there was another side to the priesthood, at least in my case. It was also how God was serving me in my own spiritual growth and development,” he said. “It wasn’t just me giving, but it was also receiving — and I hadn’t really thought about that or anticipated that in the way I’ve experienced it .”
Tags: Priests
