After 16 years in Tyler, Anthony McLaughlin, the rector of the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, will be leaving to teach canon law at The Catholic University of America.

“It’s bittersweet,” he said. “This has become my home and my family.”

McLaughlin attended the university himself and was contacted by the dean to apply for a position in mid-May.

“I think it’s providential,” McLaughlin said. “The Lord is full of surprises.”

While McLaughlin applied for the position instead of being appointed, the school thanked Tyler Bishop Joseph Strickland for allowing McLaughlin to accept the full-time tenure track position.

“I’m still a priest of Tyler, I’m still married to Tyler,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin doesn’t begin the position until June, 1. In the meantime, a search will begin for his replacement.