Seaford — While growing up in East Meadow, Msgr. William Koenig recalls, he and his brothers used to set up little carnivals in their backyard.
“We might raise $20, which was a lot of money in those days, and I would give the money to the parish, St. Raphael’s. I guess that was my early training to be a pastor,” he adds with a chuckle.
Msgr. Koenig, pastor of St. William the Abbot Church here, celebrated his 25th anniversary as a priest June 1 at his parish. He recalls many other early childhood experiences that nurtured warm feelings for the Church.

Born in Glendale, Queens, he moved to East Meadow with his parents, Mary, a teacher, and Al, a maintenance and grounds supervisor for Western Electric. His family visited his grandmother in Sullivan County during summers. She worked as an organist and cleaned the church at a small parish. “I used to help her clean the wax off the votive candles.”
Msgr. Koenig notes that his parish, St. Raphael, “always had something going on,” with sports and other activities. “It was a fun place to be.” He also noted the example of his parish priests, the pastor Father Frederick Lerner, and Msgr. John Mott, an associate pastor involved with the sports programs.
After graduating from St. Raphael’s School, he attended St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale.
“We had Mass every day,” which deepened his faith, Msgr. Koenig said, and he was influenced by his fellow students’ interest in the priesthood as well as the instructors, including Msgr. John Seidenschwang and Msgr. Charles Guarino.
He found his vocation nurtured further at Cathedral College in Douglaston, which trained seminarians from three dioceses. “I always enjoyed the interaction of different opinions.” He also coached sports teams for St. Pius.
His education and formation continued at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception through his course work, his interaction with other seminarians, and his experiences in his pastoral year at Curé of Ars Church in Merrick.
Serving as a summer chaplain at correctional centers in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and a summer working at the parish outreach center at St. Martin of Tours in Amityville confirmed his calling. He was ordained May 14, 1983.
His first assignment was as associate pastor at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Syosset. “It was a great place to begin my priesthood.” He recalled the support of his pastor, Msgr. John Martin.
In 1988, he was assigned to St. James in Setauket, where he served as associate pastor and also campus minister at nearby Stony Brook University. “They started a great RCIA program. I really loved working with the people and seeing them through the process.”
From 1989 to 1996, he was the director of the diocesan Vocations Office. A year later, he was assigned the additional responsibility of diocesan director of ministry to priests.
“It was a great experience, focusing on people thinking about religious life and priesthood and setting up programs to benefit the priests,” Msgr. Koenig said. “Because I was working with different religious orders and contacting speakers from other parts of the country, it was an opportunity to be in touch with the larger Church.”
Msgr. Koenig was transferred to St. Agnes Cathedral as associate pastor in 1996. “Living with Bishop McGann was a blessing and it was great to get back into parish life, particularly a parish so vibrant.”
In 2000, Bishop James McHugh assigned Msgr. Koenig to his first pastorate at St. William the Abbot here in Seaford. “I was grateful to him and am grateful to Bishop William Murphy for assigning me to a second term.”
He has found both the parishioners and the parish staff good to work with and has focused on the pastoral council, finance committee, and stewardship committee. “We have a good parish staff, and I spend a lot of time on staff meetings and other communications with them.”
And Msgr. Koenig still enjoys parish festivals. “We’ve had one for years. It raises money for the parish, but we also get hundreds of people involved. It’s a good time.”
The priesthood has its frustrations. “There are always so many things that need to be done, but there doesn’t seem to be enough time.”
That is more than balanced, Msgr. Koenig said, by the rewards of the priesthood. “There is so much opportunity to be in relationship with people and to be with them in important moments of their lives,” at struggles and crises, at times of mourning, but also at the joyous times, including the baptism of a child or a wedding.
“And you have the opportunity,” Msgr. Koenig said, “to help them experience it all through their faith.”