Deacons, left to right, Christopher Costigan, Allan Sikorski, Lachlan Cameron, Gonzalo Oajaca-Lopez, John McCarthy, Thomas Tassone, Robert Ketcham, Robert Holz and Allan Arneaud join Msgr. James McDonald, rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary, at the seminary convocation May 15. TLIC photo/Gregory A. Shemitz

Huntington — On June 14, Bishop William Murphy will ordain nine new priests for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the largest group since he was named bishop in 2001. In fact, this class is tied for the largest class to be ordained for the diocese in the past 20 years. There were also nine in 1991.

“I am very happy to be ordaining nine men of the quality and caliber as these future priests,” said Bishop Murphy. “Our diocese has never had a sufficient number of priests for the work of evangelization and the pastoral care of the people of God. I pray daily that this number be doubled or trebled in the years ahead because I know that there are many young men with great generosity. We all need to pray for vocations and encourage vocations in our own families.”

For Msgr. James McDonald, rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary here, this is a time of great joy. In addition to the nine priests for our diocese, the class of ’08 includes two men who will be ordained for the Diocese of Brooklyn on June 7.
“They are all very fine candidates for the priesthood,” Msgr. McDonald said. “I am impressed by their spiritual depth, their genuine holiness.”

A diverse group, the men range in age from 27 to 47 and come from varied backgrounds. “Some are very gifted intellectually, others musically,” said Msgr. McDonald. “They all bring something. They each have strong, definite personalities, good preaching abilities and enthusiasm. They are anxious to get out and do the work of the Church.”

“That great spirit and enthusiasm becomes infectious,” added Father Brian Barr, diocesan vocations director, noting that members of this class inspired at least two vocations during their pastoral year, the third year of their seminary program when they live and work at a parish.

“They are all very generous men,” said Father Barr of the class of ’08. They have helped with projects of the vocation office and given presentations at retreats for men considering the priesthood.

Father Barr attributes the large class size to the “coming together of lots of factors,” including the influence of Pope John Paul II, whose dynamic papacy from 1978 to 2005 covered most of the lifetimes of these men. He also thinks the fallout from the priest sexual abuse scandal may actually have helped increase vocations.

“People’s first reaction was that this (scandal) would kill vocations, but it inspired many guys to be holier priests,” whose lives inspired other men to explore vocations, said Father Barr. The scandal didn’t “scare them,” he said of the candidates, because they saw how important it was for the Church to have good priests.

“We have an excellent program here, excellent teachers, a fine pastoral year experience,” Msgr. McDonald said about the seminary. Having a larger group of students makes it “an even better learning experience.”

Father Barr, who is also director of campus ministry in the diocese, said “there is reason to be encouraged” about the future of vocations, as young people become more involved in their faith. “Talk to kids in high schools. They are involved in their faith much more than they were 25 years ago,” he said.

“One part of my job is to help generate interest, help guys, and girls, to figure out what God wants them to do with their life,” said Father Barr, something that is also part of the job of all priests.

“It’s all about building relationships,” he added. “When you get to know about a good priest’s life,” you are more willing to consider the same life for yourself.

Msgr. McDonald, who has been credited with influencing many young men to consider the priesthood, was pastor of two members of the class of ’08 when they were growing up — Robert Holz at St. Matthew’s, Dix Hills, and Robert Ketcham at St. John the Evangelist, Center Moriches. Both recall how Msgr. McDonald made the priesthood seem like a good option. They cited his own joy in his vocation and his willingness to share what it meant to be a priest.

Msgr. McDonald believes it is “important for young men to know what a priest is.” He would often invite interested young men to accompany him on sick calls and to funerals, encourage them to teach religious education classes and get involved in service work.

“We need to have strong youth programs that are more than just social,” he said. Young people have to be included in the work of the Church and priests have to be actively involved in teaching them their faith, he said.

Father Barr noted the “huge power of an invitation,” pointing to studies showing that the vast majority of people who have entered religious life in recent years recall being invited to consider their vocation. “People are flattered to be invited,” he said.

That invitation can take many forms. Robert Holz, who didn’t enter the seminary until he was over 40, remembers the time a few years ago when Msgr. McDonald was trying to reach Holz’ mother but didn’t know that Holz’ parents were staying at his house. When the priest heard Robert’s voice on the answering machine, he left a message asking, “When are you going to get out to the seminary where you belong?”