Bishop Robert Deeley announces two priest assignments

Bishop Robert Deeley has announced two priest assignments, which were effective September 1, 2023. Father Nsame Venantius has been appointed parochial vicar of Holy Spirit Parish in Wells (St. Martha Church, Kennebunk; St. Mary Church, Wells; All Saints Church, Ogunquit) and Father Augustine Foka Kifon has been appointed parochial vicar of the Portland Peninsula and Island Parishes (Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Portland; Sacred Heart/St. Dominic Parish, Portland; St. Christopher Parish, Peaks Island; St. Louis Parish, Portland; St. Peter Parish, Portland).

Both priests are from the Diocese of Kumbo in Cameroon. Father Venantius was born and raised in northern Cameroon. He received degrees in philosophy and theology from St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Bambui and was ordained to the priesthood on April 4, 2002, at St. Therese of the Child Jesus Cathedral in Kumbo.

His assignments in Cameroon included pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Nkor, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Nkar, parochial vicar of St. Mathias Mulumba Parish in Ako, pastor of Christ the King Parish in Nkambé, parochial vicar of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Cathedral in Kumbo, parochial vicar of Assumption Parish in Mbiame, pastor of St. Kizito Parish in Sabongari, and pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish in Binju. He has twice served as dean of a deanery. The assignment in the Diocese of Portland is his first outside his home country.

Father Augustine Foka Kifon is originally from the town of Kikaikelaki. He holds degrees in theology and philosophy and was ordained to the priesthood on April 19, 2001, at St. Augustine College in Kumbo.

His first parish assignment was as parochial vicar of St. Mathias Mulumba Parish in Ako. He was then assigned to the Diocese of Ngaoundéré, also in Cameroon, where he served at St. Joseph Mukassa Parish in Atta and then as canon of the Cathedrale Notre Dame des Apôtres in Ngaoundéré. He returned to the Diocese of Kumbo, serving as a parochial vicar and then pastor of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Parish in Tobin. He then served as pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Nkor, while also serving as a college chaplain. before leaving to study at L’Institut de formation humaine intégrale de Montréal in Quebec. Upon returning to Cameroon, he served as a hospital chaplain.

There are now 10 priests from the Diocese of Kumbo serving at Catholic parishes in Maine. Cameroonian priests also serve at Good Shepherd Parish in Saco, Parish of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Bar Harbor, St. Brendan the Navigator Parish in Camden, St. Joseph Parish in Ellsworth, St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Calais, and Stella Maris Parish in Bucksport.