Staff Writer
As vice-rector of Mater Christi Seminary in Albany around the time of Vatican Council II, Rev. James Daley assisted with the formation of hundreds of priests.
He was there when then-Bishop Edwin B. Broderick attempted to increase vocations by implementing a new program that enabled seminarians to attend classes at Siena College in Loudonville while continuing to live at the seminary.
Today, Mater Christi Seminary is no more and the number of priestly vocations has declined; however, Father Daley, pastor of St. Thomas Church in Delmar, doesn't believe that fewer ordinations mean there are fewer men who would make good priests.
"I'm not sure whether there were more vocations then. I feel that there are as many vocations [today]; it's just fewer people are responding to their calling," he said.
Father Daley came to Mater Christi in 1959 and served as a Greek and Latin teacher, librarian, and vice-rector. Being involved there turned out to be exciting work because changes that came from Vatican Council II impacted seminarians, Father Daley said.
One of the biggest differences was the replacement of Latin with English in celebrating the sacraments and Mass. The seminarians' daily regimen also underwent change, with television sets, stereos, newspapers and magazines made available to them as a way of keeping in touch with society.
With the introduction of the Siena program, seminarians had a wider choice of studies and greater selectivity to pursue elective courses. They could take part in extracurricular activities.
The seminarians from the Albany Diocese weren't the only students preparing for priesthood there; Siena already had been educating future priests for the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, and seminarians from the Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, the Conventual Franciscan Province of the Immaculate Conception and the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement of Graymoor.
Father Daley, who served as diocesan director of vocations in the 1960s, is concerned that parents don't seem to be offering guidance and support to children who might be leaning toward priestly vocations. The role of families is one that cannot be emphasized enough.