PORTLAND---Bishop Robert P. Deeley has announced the following priest assignments and retirement with effective dates noted:
Assignments
Effective July 1, 2015, Fr. Paul Sullivan, SJ, has been appointed pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish (St. Joseph Church, Portland; St. Pius X Church, Portland). Since July of 2014, Fr. Sullivan has served as parochial vicar at St. Michael Parish in Augusta. Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, he attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and also studied at the Bangor Theological Seminary, the New England Province of the Society of Jesus in Boston, and the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 18, 1983. As a member of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Sullivan was assigned to teach social studies and religion at Cheverus High School in Portland on two 
occasions (1977-1980, 1984-1988). He also spent twelve years serving as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Eastport and two years as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Gardiner. Prior to his assignment at St. Michael Parish, Fr. Sullivan served as retreat director of the Eastern Point Retreat House in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Effective July 1, 2015, Fr. James F. Lafontaine, SJ, currently the pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish, will become a special assistant to the president’s office at Cheverus High School in Portland. In 2016, he is scheduled to leave Maine to serve at St. Francis Mission, a ministry among the people on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. A native of Heidelberg, Germany, Fr. Lafontaine graduated from the University of Texas in Austin where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in fine arts. He also holds a master’s degree in divinity from the Weston School of Theology (now Boston College School of Theology and Ministry). He entered the Society of Jesus in 1977 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1987. Prior to arriving in Maine in 2008, Fr. Lafontaine served in a variety of capacities, as a music and religion teacher at Boston College High School; assistant director and chaplain of the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School; provincial assistant for formation and secondary education; parochial vicar at St. Ignatius Church in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts; and as executive director of Nativity Preparatory School in Boston. In March of 2008, Fr. Lafontaine was appointed administrator of St. Patrick Parish and St. Pius X Parish in Portland. In July of 2010, in addition to his duties at St. Patrick and St. Pius X, he was named administrator of St. Joseph Parish, also in Portland. In July of 2011, Fr. Lafontaine was appointed pastor of the newly-formed Our Lady of Hope Parish, comprised of St. Joseph, St. Pius X, and St. Patrick Parishes. In addition to his parish service in the diocese, Fr. Lafontaine also sat on the Cheverus High School Board of Trustees.
Effective August 1, 2015, Fr. John D. Dickinson will pursue advanced studies at the School of Canon Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Marshwood High School in South Berwick, Fr. Dickinson earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Providence College in Rhode Island and completed his clerical studies at the Theological College at The Catholic University of America. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Richard J. Malone on May 28, 2011, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. In June of 2011, Fr. Dickinson was appointed parochial vicar at Corpus Christi Parish in Waterville. Since August of 2013, he has served as parochial vicar at Good Shepherd Parish in Saco.
Effective August 1, 2015, Fr. Robert Gaudreau has been appointed parochial vicar to Good Shepherd Parish (Most Holy Trinity Church, Saco; St. Joseph Church, Biddeford; St. Margaret Church, Old Orchard Beach; St. Philip Church, Lyman; St. Brendan Church, Biddeford Pool). A Rhode Island native, Fr. Gaudreau earned bachelor’s degrees in philosophy from Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Warwick, Rhode Island, and theology from the Université de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Québec. He also holds a master’s degree in French from Rhode Island College. For nearly 25 years, he taught religion, French, and Spanish in schools in Québec, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Fr. Gaudreau was ordained to the priesthood on November 7, 2008, in Sherbrooke, Québec, for the Archdiocese of Sherbrooke. Prior to arriving in Maine, he served in many capacities, including as pastor and administrator at parishes in Sherbrooke, Windsor, and Stanstead, all located in the province of Québec. In December of 2014, Fr. Gaudreau was appointed temporary parochial vicar for Corpus Christi Parish in Waterville. Since February of this year, Fr. Gaudreau has served in the same role at Our Lady of the Snows Parish in Dexter and St. Agnes Parish in Pittsfield.
Retirement
Effective July 1, 2015, Fr. Raymond P. Morency will retire from active ministry. A native of Lewiston, Fr. Morency attended Lewiston High School and earned an associate’s degree in business from the University of Maine and a bachelor’s degree from Thomas College in Waterville. He served in the U.S. Army and worked as a personnel manager at Portland Stove Foundry and later with North Anson Reel Co. before entering St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland. On May 24, 1987, Fr. Morency was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Edward C. O’Leary at Holy Cross Church in Lewiston. His first assignment was to St. Andre Parish in Biddeford as associate pastor. In July of 1989, he was assigned as parochial vicar to St. Augustine Parish in Augusta. Two years later, Fr. Morency was named parochial vicar at Holy Rosary Parish in Caribou. In July of 1994, he was appointed pastor of St. James the Greater Parish in Woodland. In 1995, Fr. Morency accepted a commission to return to active duty as a U.S. Army chaplain for three years. After his years of service, he returned to the diocese in July of 1998 and was named pastor of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish in Oquossoc, which also included St. Luke Church in Rangeley, St. John Church in Stratton and, in the winter, Bell Chapel in Sugarloaf. In July of 2000, Fr. Morency was appointed pastor of St. Anne Parish in Dexter. In addition to his duties at St. Anne Parish, Fr. Morency was appointed pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Pittsfield for a year starting in April 2002. In August of 2005, Fr. Morency was named parochial vicar at St. Mark Parish in Ashland; St. Mary Parish in Presque Isle; St. Joseph Parish in Mars Hill; St. Denis Parish in Fort Fairfield; St. Louis Parish in Limestone; and Holy Rosary Parish in Caribou. In addition to those responsibilities, in 2007, Fr. Morency was also appointed as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in North Caribou and St. Theresa Parish in Stockholm. In July of 2009, the aforementioned parishes became the Parish of the Precious Blood which Fr. Morency still serves today.