PORTLAND, Maine — Effective June 1, Bishop Robert P. Deeley is announcing the retirement of Fr. Reginald R. Brissette, senior priest at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Westbrook.
A native of Caribou, Fr. Brissette completed his clerical studies at the Grand Seminary of St. Sulpice in Montreal, earning baccalaureate degrees in philosophy and theology. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Daniel J. Feeney at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland in 1963.
From 1963 until 1979, Fr. Brissette served as assistant pastor at St. Joseph Parish, Eastport; Sacred Heart Parish, Auburn; Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Presque Isle; and Holy Family Parish, Lewiston.
In 1980, after several months of specialized studies at North American College in Rome, he was appointed chaplain of Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, where he served until being named pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Farmington in 1981. In 1989, Fr. Brissette was appointed pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Berwick, and, in 1995, was named pastor of St. Andre Parish in Biddeford.
In 2005, he was appointed administrator of St. Anthony of Padua in Westbrook. Fr. Brissette will remain in residence at St. Anthony, where he will continue to be active in ministry during his retirement.
Also effective June 1, the bishop announced, with be the retirement of Fr. Joseph J. Koury, administrator of St. Anne Parish and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Windham, and the appointment of Fr. Louis J. Phillips, current interim superintendent of Maine Catholic Schools, as the new pastor of St. Anne Parish, Gorham; St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Westbrook; and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Windham.
Both Fr. Koury and Fr. Phillips have served in various capacities at parishes throughout southern Maine.
