PORTLAND — Bishop Robert P. Deeley has announced new priest assignments with effective dates noted.

Effective July 1, Fr. Benedict Olusegun Faneye, OP, has been appointed chaplain at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, St. Mary’s d’Youville Pavilion, St. Mary’s Residence and Central Maine Medical Center, all located in Lewiston.

Since November of 2018, he has served as parochial vicar of Stella Maris Parish (St. Vincent de Paul Church, Bucksport; Our Lady of Holy Hope Church, Castine; and St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, Stonington), St. Joseph Parish (St. Joseph Church, Ellsworth; Blue Hill Mission, Blue Hill; Our Lady of the Lake Mission, Green Lake; St. Margaret Chapel, Winter Harbor), and Parish of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Holy Redeemer Church, Bar Harbor; St. Peter Church, Manset; St. Ignatius Church, Northeast Harbor).

Originally from Nigeria, Benedict is a member of the Dominican Fathers and Brothers of the Province of St. Joseph the Worker, Nigeria and Ghana. Benedict began formation with the Dominicans in 1985 and was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 1994, in Baltimore, Maryland. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria; a master of divinity degree from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of studies in Washington, D.C.; a licentiate in moral philosophy from The Catholic University of America, also in Washington, D.C.; and a doctorate in healthcare ethics from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Since his ordination, Benedict has served as a hospital and nursing home chaplain; a lecturer in bioethics, moral philosophy and moral theology at the Dominican Institute in Nigeria; a member of the Institutional Ethics Committee of Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; an administrator in the Dominican Development and Missions Office in Maryland; and as parochial vicar at a church in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, his final assignment before arriving in the Diocese of Portland last year.

Effective July 17, Fr. Anthony F. Kuzia, CM, has been appointed pastor of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish (Our Lady of the Lakes Church, Oquossoc; St. Luke Church, Rangeley; St. John Church, Stratton; Bell Chapel, Sugarloaf Mountain).

Since January of this year, Kuzia has served as the temporary administrator of Prince of Peace Parish (Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Holy Cross Church and Holy Family Church, all in Lewiston), Holy Trinity Parish in Lisbon Falls and Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Sabattus.

Kuzia previously served as pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Lisbon Falls in the late 1990s. A native of Ansonia, Connecticut, Kuzia was received into the Vincentian community in 1969. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Niagara University in Lewiston, New York, and a master of divinity degree from Mary Immaculate Seminary in Northampton, Pennsylvania, before making his final vows on June 13, 1974. Kuzia was ordained to the priesthood in the Mary Immaculate Seminary chapel on May 29, 1976.

Since his ordination, Kuzia has served as a parochial vicar at St. Michael Church in Derby; faculty member at St. John Kanty Prep in Erie, Pennsylvania; superior, consultor, vocations director and treasurer for the New England province of the Vincentian Order; pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Lisbon; vicar for priests for the Diocese of Portland; pastor of St. Peter and Sacred Heart Parishes in Concord, New Hampshire; pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Pelham, New Hampshire; and parochial vicar of St. Stanislaus Parish in New Haven, Connecticut. In addition, Kuzia was responsible for supervising the construction of the DePaul Provincial Residence in Manchester, Connecticut, and the current Holy Trinity Church in Lisbon Falls.

 

Effective July 17, Fr. Paul G. Murray will take a medical leave of absence. Since June of 2016, he has served as administrator of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish (Our Lady of the Lakes Church, Oquossoc; St. Luke Church, Rangeley; St. John Church, Stratton; Bell Chapel, Sugarloaf Mountain).

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Murray attended Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Massachusetts. He graduated with an associate degree in business administration from Massachusetts Bay Community College. In 2004, he entered Holy Apostles College & Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, before completing his clerical studies at Saint John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Richard J. Malone on May 30, 2009, at Holy Family Church in Lewiston.

His first assignment was serving at Corpus Christi Parish in Waterville and Christ the King Parish in Skowhegan. In October of 2011, he was named parochial vicar at St. Agnes Parish in Pittsfield and Our Lady of the Snows Parish in Dover-Foxcroft.

In August of 2014, he was appointed as residential care chaplain in the parishes of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Auburn and Prince of Peace in Lewiston. As the full-time residential care chaplain of these areas, Murray served the senior residential care institutions located in Lewiston and Auburn and provides coverage for emergencies at Central Maine Medical Center and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center as a backup to the regular chaplains when they are off duty. In addition, he assisted Fr. Robert D. Lariviere, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, by celebrating selected Masses at parish churches.

Prior to entering the seminary, Murray was a member of the Madonna House Community in Ontario, Canada, for 19 years. The Catholic community of lay men, women, and priests serve in a mission capacity in more than 10 countries worldwide. As a member of the community, Murray served in hospitality/maintenance at the community center in Ontario, a hostel in the Yukon, a retreat center in England and a soup kitchen in Saskatchewan.