Families, friends and clergy gathered today in Munhall for the funeral Mass for the Rev. Patrick Rager.

Father Rager, 50, died in his home Tuesday after years of suffering from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. Despite his illness, Father Rager earned recognition worldwide for his dedication to ministry and was described by church leaders as a yet-to-be-canonized saint.

As the coordinator of a ministry for people with physical disabilities, Father Rager worked with people over the phone beginning in 1988. Known to many as "Father Paddy," he inspired many Catholics in the U.S. and abroad.

Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh attended today's mass at St. Therese of Lisieux church, telling Father Rager's mother, Helene Rager, that her son was "truly" a saint.

"He accepted a cross that for most of us would have been impossible, but for him, was living," he said.

Father Rager will be buried at St. Mary Magdalene Cemetery in Munhall.

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