Bishop Wayne Kirkpatrick announces the following pastoral appointments, with gratitude for the cooperation of our priests and deacons and the assistance of our Personnel Committee.
Rev. Daniel Tshimbalanga CFIC (Sons of the Immaculate Conception), will serve as Administrator of St. Pierre Church, Cheticamp, and St. Joseph Church, St. Joseph du Moine. For a transitional period as the parish celebrates its 200th Anniversary, he will continue to serve as Pastor at Stella Maris Church in Inverness and St. Margaret of Scotland Church, Broad Cove, effective September 1, 2025.
Rev. Jaison Kudiyirikal Cheriya, is from the Diocese of Irinjalakuda in Kerala, India. He was ordained on December 28, 1998. For a transitional period, he will serve as Associate Pastor at Stella Maris Church in Inverness and St. Margaret of Scotland Church, Broad Cove, effective September 1, 2025. He holds a Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. In addition to parish ministry, he served in several other diocesan ministries. He was also engaged in pastoral ministry in the Archdiocese of Milan, and the German Dioceses of Munster, Stuttgart, Regensburg and Cologne.
Rev. Thaddeus Chikezie Orga is from the Diocese of Awgu in Nigeria. He was ordained on October 8, 2009. He will serve as Administrator of St. Patrick Parish, Lochaber, St. Paul Church, Sherbrooke and St. Joseph Church, St. Joseph, effective September 15, 2025. He holds a Licentiate in Patristics from the Pontificium Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum in Rome. He has been assisting Father Victor Ozonoh with the Frenchvale parishes.
Seminarian
Seminarian Joseph MacMaster will return to St. Augustine’s Seminary in September for his third year of Theology. He completed his pastoral year internship at Holy Family Church, Sydney Mines, with Father Fabian Ihunegbo.
Transfer / Retirement / Congratulations
Rev. Tom Stephan, currently serving at St. Patrick Parish, Lochaber, St. Paul Church, Sherbrooke, and St. Joseph Church, St. Joseph, is transferring to the Archdiocese of Kingston in Ontario.
Retirements
Deacon Henry van de Wiel retired from St. Ninian Cathedral effective December 1, 2024. We thank him for his devoted service.
Deacon Fernand Boivin retired from liturgical service at Holy Name, Westville and Stella Maris, Pictou, effective May 21, 2025. He continues his outreach ministry at the nursing home. We thank him for his devoted service.
Mary Oxner announced her resignation as chair and member of the Diocesan Finance Council, effective June 30, 2025. She has provided fifteen years of exceptional service and unwavering dedication as a member and later as Chair of the Council. In June, Mary was honoured by being recognized as a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant (FCPA). This designation is the highest honour a member of CPA Nova Scotia can receive, and the purpose of this award is to recognize CPAs who have made significant contributions to their profession and community. We extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to Mary for her faithful service to our diocese.
We thank Cathy Farrow for agreeing to serve as the new Chair of the Diocesan Finance Council.
Congratulations
At their annual State of Nova Scotia Convention Banquet on May 3, 2025, Council 9476, Sydney River, won two awards and Father Conrad Edwards was awarded the Blessed Michael McGivney Award for the best chaplain of a parish Knights of Columbus Conference.
