 After a request from Irish merchants there to Bishop William Egan, O'Donel was sent to St. John's as Prefect Apostolic the same year, largely to deal with the presence of "unlicensed" and "unruly" priests on the island.In addition to his personal popularity, one of his qualifications for the position was an ability to preach in Gaelic.O'Donel found that insubordinate priests were fighting Irish battles, and set about reorganizing the Catholic Church in Newfoundland.