A new rector of a Long Island seminary – a return to earlier (and more sensible) days?

"I must tell you, I was very surprised to be considered," said McDonald, 64, who attended the seminary. "I thought St. Matthew’s parish would be my first and last appointment as priest."

Considered a champion of conservative orthodoxy whose twin passions have been encouraging priest recruits and working for right-to-life causes, McDonald had been an associate director of vocations under the late Bishop James McHugh. Despite McDonald’s broad experience as a priest, many in the diocese expressed surprise at his appointment because, unlike his predecessors, he has no background in academics and no advanced degrees.

While it is not a requirement, the trend over the past 25 to 30 years has been to appoint men with advanced degrees, said the Rev. Donald Cozzens, author and former seminary rector. "Before that time, however, the rector was considered something like the pastor of the seminary," Cozzens said. "Bishops often looked for someone who could model healthy, whole pastoring in terms of what it means to be a priest."

That appeared to have been the thinking of Bishop William Murphy, who described McDonald as the right man at the right time.

"Msgr. McDonald is a priest who has won the confidence and respect of every priest with whom he has served since his ordination in 1967," the bishop said in a prepared statement. "He will be an extraordinary mentor and leader."