St. Paul of the Cross Church in La Mirada recently held a retirement dinner for its long time pastor Father Pat Gannon who will retire July 1 after 44 years of priestly service, half of it at St. Paul.

The festive evening was attended by many community leaders and featured games and quizzes featuring Father Gannon factoids. The night ended with a dance in honor of the retiring priest.

Father Gannon came to the United States from Ireland in 1950 and was ordained in 1960 after studying at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo. He arrived at St. Paul's in 1982 as associate pastor and was named pastor in March 1984.

During his time at St. Paul, Father Gannon oversaw the complete renovation of the parish and was instrumental in the completion of a new parish hall which is named in his honor.