Bishop Ruggieri announces new priest assignments
His Excellency Bishop James Ruggieri has announced priest assignments effective September 1, 2025.
Reverend Patrick Finn has been appointed part-time parochial vicar of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Westbrook. Fr. Finn will continue as chaplain for Saint Joseph’s College of Maine in Standish, where he was appointed in August of 2024. Prior to St. Joseph's College, Fr. Finn served as parochial vicar for Prince of Peace Parish in Lewiston beginning in 2020, and from 2018 to 2020 was parochial vicar for Corpus Christi Parish in Waterville. Prior to his ordination, he served as communications director for the U.S. Bishops’ Black and Indian Mission Office in Washington, D.C., and as director of faith formation at Prince of Peace Parish. Fr. Finn earned an undergraduate degree in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio and a Master of Divinity from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He completed his priestly formation at Saint John’s Seminary in Brighton, Mass.
Reverend Augustine Foka Kifon has been appointed administrator of Our Lady of the Eucharist Parish in Lincoln, replacing Reverend Cyprian Tatah Ferdzefer who will be returning to the Diocese of Kumbo in Cameroon. Fr. Kifon has been parochial vicar for the Portland Peninsula and Island Parishes since September of 2023. Fr. Kifon served in a number of roles in the Diocese of Kumbo in his native Cameroon, including as hospital chaplain of the St. Elizabeth Catholic General Hospital Shisong, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Nkor, parochial vicar and then pastor of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Parish in Tobin, parochial vicar of St. Mathias Mulumba Parish in Ako, and teaching humanities in the Catholic School of Health Sciences Shisong. Additionally, he served in St. Joseph Mukassa Parish in Atta and then as canon of the Cathedrale Notre Dame des Apôtres in the Diocese of Ngaoundéré, also in Cameroon. He holds degrees in theology and philosophy from St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary Bambui-Cameroon and also studied L’Institut de Formation Humaine Intégrale de Montréal in Quebec.
Reverend Sylvester Nwaokolo, OP has been appointed parochial vicar for the Portland Peninsula and Island Parishes. Fr. Nwaokolo has been in-residence at Saint Peter Parish, Portland since June. Father Nwaokolo arrived in Maine in May from Nigeria and is a member of the Dominican Order. Prior to coming to Maine, he served as associate pastor/superior of St. Patrick’s Catholic Parish, Agbor-Obi, Delta State; prior/superior of St. Dominic Catholic Parish, Yaba, Lagos State; prior/superior of St. Thomas Aquinas Formation House, Samonda, Ibadan; and pastor of St. Paul’s Catholic Parish, Oyigbo, Rivers State. He completed his theology studies at Spiritan International School of Theology and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from the Dominican Institute of Philosophy & Theology, Ibadan. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the Seminary of Saints Peter and Paul, Bodija, Ibadan.
