Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
PORTLAND — Western Maine Catholics will see a new face in church when the parochial vicar of Augusta-area St. Michael Parish relocates to churches in Oxford and Androscoggin counties, Bishop Robert P. Deeley announced April 24.
Deeley announced six priest assignments to take effect July 1, including that of the Rev. Edward R. Clifford who will be pastor of St. Joseph Parish (St. Joseph Church, Bridgton; St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Fryeburg) and St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish (St. Catherine of Sienna Church, Norway; Our Lady of Ransom Church, Mechanic Falls; St. Mary Church, Oxford).
Since August, Clifford has served as parochial vicar of St. Michael Parish (St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Augusta; St. Augustine Church, Augusta; St. Joseph Church, Gardiner; Sacred Heart Church, Hallowell; St. Denis Church, Whitefield; St. Francis Xavier Church, Winthrop).
A native of the Shawmut area of Fairfield, he attended Yarmouth High School, and graduated from high school in Milford, Ohio, in 1981. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Dayton in Ohio and a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Maine. In 2014, he earned a second master’s degree in divinity from Pope Saint John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass.
Clifford was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Robert P. Deeley on June 14, 2014. Upon his ordination, he was named parochial vicar for the Portland Peninsula and Island Parishes. Before entering the seminary, he had a 20-year career in municipal government, serving local governments in executive positions in Lower Gwynedd, Penn., Norwich, Conn., and Biddeford.
The very Rev. Mnsgr. Paul F. Stefanko, who currently serves the parishes Clifford will be overseeing, has been appointed pastor of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Scarborough, St. Bartholomew Parish in Cape Elizabeth, and St. John and Holy Cross Parish in South Portland.
Stefanko continues to serve as judicial vicar and director of the diocesan tribunal for the Diocese of Portland, which is the court of the bishop that adjudicates ecclesiastical judicial cases, including marriage annulment cases.
Somerset county residents will welcome the Rev. James L. Nadeau, who has been appointed pastor of Christ the King Parish (Notre Dame de Lourdes Church, Skowhegan; St. Peter Church, Bingham; St. Sebastian Church, Madison). He currently serves as pastor of St. John Vianney Parish (St. Louis Church, Fort Kent; St. Mary Church, Eagle Lake; St. Charles Borromeo Church, St. Francis; St. Joseph Church, Wallagrass).
Born in Caribou, he graduated from Caribou High School before earning a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., in 1983. He completed his clerical studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, and also earned S.T.B. and S.T.L. degrees from the Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Edward C. O’Leary on July 9, 1988, at Holy Rosary Church in Caribou.
In 2014, Nadeau was named the recipient of the Maine Educational Opportunity Association Achiever Award for his educational accomplishments as well as his dedication to providing educational opportunities for low income and first generation college-bound students who hope to find success in higher education.
Nadeau is also a knight commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a worldwide charitable organizations that supports Christian schools in the Holy Land.
Other assignments include the Rev. Jean-Paul Labrie, appointed pastor of St. John Vianney Parish. Since July of 2009, Labrie has served as pastor of the Parish of the Precious Blood (Holy Rosary Church, Caribou; Sacred Heart Church, Caribou; Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Presque Isle; Our Lady of the Lake Church, Portage; St. Catherine Church, Washburn; St. Denis Church, Fort Fairfield; St. Joseph Church, Mars Hill; St. Louis Church, Limestone; St. Mark Church, Ashland; St. Theresa Church, Stockholm).
In 1983, Labrie was assigned to Holy Family Parish in Lewiston as an associate pastor, where he served until 1985. The Rev. Kent R. Ouellette has been appointed pastor of St. Agnes Parish (St. Agnes Church, Island Falls; St. Paul Church, Patten) and St. Mary of the Visitation Parish in Houlton. He is currently parochial vicar at Notre Dame du Mont Carmel Parish (St. David Church, Madawaska; St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Madawaska; St. Gerard-Mt. Carmel Church, Grand Isle), Our Lady of the Valley Parish (St. Agatha Church, St. Agatha; St. Joseph Church, Sinclair; St. Luce Church, Frenchville; St. Michael Church, Birchpoint), and St. Peter Chanel Parish (St. Bruno-St. Remi Church, Van Buren; St. Joseph Church, Hamlin).
The Rev. David R. Raymond will be pastor of the Parish of the Precious Blood. He is currently the pastor of St. Agnes Parish and St. Mary of the Visitation Parish.
Deeley also announced April 24 that, effective July 1, the very Rev. Mnsgr. Michael J. Henchal will retire from active ministry. Henchal was ordained to the priesthood on July 14, 1973, by Bishop Peter L. Gerety at St. Joseph Parish in Lewiston. His first pastoral assignment was as associate pastor at Ss. Athanasius & St. John Parish in Rumford, where he served until 1976. He also served as associate pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Jay in the early 1980s.
