When Msgr. John J. Skelly, the pastor of St. Mary's R. C. Church in Manhasset, announced that he had asked Bishop McGann to accept his resignation, apart from the parishioners' consensus that he would certainly be missed, there was a natural curiosity as to his successor. Msgr. Skelly has been pastor of St. Mary's for 10 years. His predecessor, Msgr. John J. Wiest, served for nearly 20 years, from 1969 to 1988, and his predecessor, Msgr. John K. Sharp, for 30 years, from 1939 to 1969.

On March 12 Bishop McGann announced that the new pastor of St. Mary's will be Msgr. John J. McCann, presently pastor of St. Patrick's in Glen Cove where he has served since 1974. Monsignor McCann was born in Brooklyn and grew up in New Hyde Park where he attended Holy Spirit School. He is no stranger to St. Mary's, because he attended high school here, prior to college at St. John's University and graduation from Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington. He was ordained as a priest in 1965 and served as associate pastor of Notre Dame Church in New Hyde Park, St. Joseph's in Ronkonkoma and St. Patrick's in Glen Cove. He also served as administrator of St. Patrick's before being named pastor in 1984.

He spoke with the Manhasset Press recently in his office at St. Patrick's, Glen Cove, he said, is a "microcosm of the metropolitan area, economically, with everyone from the top of the heap to the bottom of the barrel." He is less sure of what he will find in Manhasset, he said. "You can't have a vision for a parish until you get there," he said, "and the direction you take should be a mutual thing between pastor and parishioners."

After 24 years at St. Patrick's he acknowledged that he was startled when the bishop told him he wanted him at St. Mary's. "He said he realized I was happy here but he needed me at St. Mary's." When the monsignor went to visit his parents, who live in Glen Head, to tell them the news, he said his mother went over to a bookshelf and took down a copy of Monsignor Sharp's autobiographical reminiscences and gave it to him. That, she told him, should give him a picture of St. Mary's.

Although there is no parish council at St. Patrick's, Monsignor McCann meets with different groups of parishioners on a regular basis. In collaboration with his parishioners, a mission statement was developed for the parish. It reads: "We, the Catholic Faith Community of St. Patrick, rooted in Prayer, anointed in Baptism, guided by the Holy Spirit, nourished by Scripture, Sacraments and Service, strive to live the Gospel as a collaborative, inclusive community. We commit ourselves to use our individual and collective gifts to build the reign of God."

At St. Patrick's Monsignor McCann has been the chairman of the corporate board of a regional elementary school which is owned by its five component parishes, St. Boniface, St. Mary's in Roslyn, St. Hyacinth and St. Patrick's. He envisions a close relationship with the schools of St. Mary's in Manhasset. "The schools should be Catholic, academically excellent and financially solid, in that order," he said, adding, "We can't provide every extra but we can produce faithful, productive adults."

In concluding the interview, Monsignor McCann said, "St. Mary's has been blessed with three great pastors. They have all been different and I will be different. We will have to discern how we can grow as we approach the Millennium." He expects to come to St. Mary's at the end of June.