Father Rahm returns to El Paso with rousing welcome

El Pasoans on Wednesday welcomed Father Harold Rahm, the Jesuit Priest who became an El Paso icon who ministered in the Segundo Barrio more than half a century ago.

“I have always loved you so very very much and the little bit that I have done in Brazil, I learned to do here with you,” Father Rahm told El Pasoans who greeted him at the airport.

The 96-year old beloved priest came to El Paso in 1951 as an assistant pastor at Sacred Heart Church. In the twelve years he was in El Paso, he was known as the bicycle priest because he rode his bike to visit with people in the neighborhood, eating at their homes and often ministering to gang members, who others were too afraid to approach.

“He was extremely energetic. He actually played football with a gang of kids out there. He was even smoking with them back then. It was a chance to go in their door and bring them out his door,” said Father Ronald Gonzalez, the current Jesuit Priest at Sacred Heart.

Father Rahm helped bring attention to poor housing conditions in Segundo Barrio, helping establish a credit union and an employment office. “I don’t think it’s so much about a religious aspect because it’s not only about Catholic people. He’s helped people in general so I think it will bring the community itself more together,” said Maria Ortiz, a woman who welcomed Father Rahm at the airport.

Father Rahm has lived in Brazil since leaving El Paso, helping people with substance abuse problems.

“El Paso for me is the most wonderful place in all the world and there are not people like you any place on this Earth,” he said.