Longtime pastors see pluses in tenures

COHOES MAINSTAY

"I spent the early part of my priesthood dealing with high school kids, and then I was dealing with an older population at St. Bernard's," he said. "I had done pastoral work as an assistant, but I had never run a parish."

After serving as an assistant pastor at St. Peter's Church in Stillwater during the summer of 1955, Father McTavey juggled parish life and a career as a school teacher and administrator for the next 17 years. From 1955-57, he was an assistant at Sacred Heart Church and taught at Catholic Central High School, both in Troy. While he was an assistant at Blessed Sacrament Church in Albany from 1957-67, he served as assistant principal of Cardinal McCloskey High School in Albany and as principal from 1967-72.

Father McTavey was appointed pastor of St. Bernard's in 1972, following the death of Rev. Francis Janis, who had been pastor for an unusually brief three years. Most previous pastors had served at St. Bernard's for at least 20 years, with only eight pastors serving there during its more than 150 years.

A Troy native, Father McTavey didn't know much about Cohoes when he came to St. Bernard's, but it didn't take him long to feel at home in his new parish. "It's a nice community, and it's got a lot to offer," he said.

Changes were happening in Cohoes around that time, including the consolidation of elementary schools at St. Agnes', St. Bernard's, Sacred Heart, St. Patrick's, St. Joseph's and St. Marie's; the switch at Keveny Academy to a high school from a kindergarten to grade 12 school; and the formation of a city-wide religious education program.

The key issue for St. Bernard's parishioners, however, was ministry to the sick and aged, and Father McTavey helped coordinate home and hospital visits, and Masses at the Senior Citizens Center near the parish. "Seniors can fall between the cracks and don't get the care they need," he said. "We've had a lot of success with our program."

Father McTavey remained involved in education through the Diocesan School Board, and he visits Cohoes Catholic School when he gets the opportunity. He also has served as a diocesan consultor and is dean of Northern Albany County. He didn't expect to be at St. Bernard's for 27 years, but he's happy to have spent so much time as pastor to its 800 families.

"The people are comfortable with me, and other opportunities just never interested me," he said. "If the bishop asked me to transfer, I would, but I'm not going to volunteer. I don't see myself in some suburban parish with 2,000 families."

The idea of having a set term as pastor, as some dioceses and religious orders specify, is an interesting concept, but Father McTavey couldn't see himself following such a rule.

"You become a part of families, their lives," he said. "There are generations of Baptisms, First Communions and Confirmations. That's the beautiful part of being a priest, and I don't know how you get that in a six-year term.

"You have to look at yourself and say, 'Am I getting stale?' It's still exciting being a pastor. It's not the same Church I was ordained to, and I don't do the same things I did 27 years ago."

Father McTavey turns 69 next month, one year shy of the voluntary retirement age for pastors, but he doesn't plan on slowing down. "Given reasonably good health, I don't have any reason to retire within a year or two, and I don't think I should," he said.

CATSKILL PILLAR

"I went in here blind," said the Troy native. "I had no idea about the place and had never been here before. I knew it was 30 miles south of Albany, but I never had any occasion to come here."

He had served as an assistant at St. Peter's Church in Delhi from 1957-58, followed by St. James Church in Albany from 1958-71, without giving much thought to the time it was taking him to finally become a pastor when he replaced Rev. Sylvester Benson at St. Patrick's.

"I was just a priest. One year followed another, and I kept going until I was appointed to St. Patrick's in 1971," he said. "At St. James, I was a humble, lowly assistant, and now I'm a proud, grateful pastor."

During his time at St. Patrick's, Father Murphy has celebrated the 25th and 40th anniversaries of his ordination, and the parish's centennial; he's also seen the closing of the parish high school, now home to St. Patrick's Academy for pre-kindergarten to grade 8. He has grown comfortable in the rural, 500-family parish and considers himself lucky to have served them since 1971.

"The people were great then, and they're great now," he said. "You get to know them quite well and see them grow. Relationships are deepened because of the time, and I've later witnessed marriages of children I baptized. You get the feeling of the place, and there's a certain loyalty between parishioner and pastor."

That loyalty was displayed in 1982, when Father Murphy spent six months at an alcohol rehabilitation clinic in Maryland, after which his parishioners welcomed him back. "Thank God, I'm over that," he said. "They were great and took me back as though I'd never gone. They were very supportive."

Father Murphy hasn't wanted to be pastor anywhere else and wouldn't have wanted his term at St. Patrick's set in advance. "With the shortage of clergy, we can't move priests around too much," he said. "I'm not looking for promotions or advancement. I like it the way it is now."

He's 70 but doesn't plan to retire for at least a few more years. "I'm in good health and played basketball with the kids at school during Catholic Schools Week," he said. "I plan to keep going until I'm retired or until the good Lord calls me."

ALBANY LEGEND

The parish wasn't totally new to Father O'Brien: He had been celebrating Mass in the chapel of Vincentian Institute every school day from 1964-72 and knew a few of the students who were parishioners. Through his diocesan work, he also knew Bishop Edward Maginn, who retired as St. Vincent's pastor in 1972 after 28 years and lived there after his retirement.

"I was always interested in parish work," Father O'Brien said. "St. Vincent's parishioners were welcoming and very receptive, and they were glad that Bishop Maginn was staying."

He didn't expect to be in an Albany parish, but the assignment has made it easier for him to continue as vicar general. "I don't think there was any connection, but it did keep me closer to the bishop and was more convenient," he said. "I thought I'd like to be a country pastor because I came from a little parish outside Troy, or a suburban pastor because I served as an assistant at St. Paul's. I had no knowledge of what a city parish was like."

Father O'Brien has emphasized music ministry, religious education, youth ministry and outreach to the elderly as pastor, and "with the changing neighborhood and times, we put a greater emphasis on social concerns and began to build up the food pantry," he said.

In 1972, the parish staff included Father O'Brien, Bishop Maginn, three assistants, a priest-in-residence, a transitional deacon and seminarian. Today, he is the only priest in the parish, but the staff is very active in ministry and administration, he pointed out.

Staying at St. Vincent's for so long has given Father O'Brien time to know families through sacraments and sharing.

"You celebrate Baptism, then years later their First Communion, then be present at their Confirmation, do their weddings, and then the next generation comes around," he said. "I'm very happy to be here. When I like a place and people seem to be happy, I see no reason for moving. You understand people and appreciate their story, their struggle."

The Church has changed since 1972, and "a priest has to keep current by reading, praying and studying," he said. "You can't be giving the same homily for 28 years, so that's a challenge -- to stay with the people and where the Church is at."

Father O'Brien, who turns 69 this spring, has no plans to retire soon. "I hope to go until I'm 75 if my health holds out and people can stand me," he said. "I'm the oldest pastor in Albany, so I suppose I'll be the first to retire."

(02-17-00) [[In-content Ad]]