PORTLAND, Maine — Bishop Robert P. Deeley recently announced a number of new priest assignments and retirements. Among those retiring will be Fr. Raymond Morency, who currently serves central Aroostook’s Parish of the Precious Blood, and Fr. Normand Carpentier, whose first assignment was at Holy Rosary in Caribou. Those newly reassigned include three Caribou natives.
Effective July 1, Fr. Raymond P. Morency will retire from active ministry. A native of Lewiston, he 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, Md.
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 1989, he was assigned as parochial vicar to St. Augustine Parish in Augusta. Two years later, he was named parochial vicar at Holy Rosary Parish in Caribou, and in July 1994, he was appointed pastor of St. James the Greater Parish in Woodland.
In 1995, 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 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 2000, Morency was appointed pastor of St. Anne Parish in Dexter. In addition to his duties at St. Anne Parish, he served as pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Pittsfield for a year starting in April 2002. In August 2005, he 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, Morency was also appointed as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in North Caribou and St. Theresa Parish in Stockholm.
In July 2009, the aforementioned parishes became the Parish of the Precious Blood, which he still serves today.
Caribou native Fr. Aaron L. Damboise has been appointed pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Jackman and Holy Family Parish in Greenville, effective July 1. Damboise, who was born in Caribou but raised in Augusta, was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Richard J. Malone on June 7, 2008, at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Augusta.
From June 2008-July 2012, Damboise served as parochial vicar at the Parish of the Precious Blood in Caribou. In July 2012, he was appointed parochial vicar of Prince of Peace Parish in Lewiston, where he currently serves.
Before entering the seminary, he worked as a behavioral specialist with children with mental health issues and as a caseworker for children with developmental disabilities.
Effective July 6, Fr. Robert L. Lupo has been appointed as parochial vicar at All Saints Parish (St. Charles Borromeo Church, Brunswick; St. John the Baptist Church, Brunswick; St. Mary Church, Bath; Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Boothbay Harbor; St. Katherine Drexel Church, Harpswell; St. Ambrose Church, Richmond; and St. Patrick Church, Newcastle).
A native of Caribou, Lupo was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Richard J. Malone on May 16, 2008, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. He served as a chaplain at Maine Medical Center in Portland before being appointed parochial vicar at Good Shepherd Parish in Saco in November of 2008. In July of 2011, he was named parochial vicar at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Auburn and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Norway.
In June 2013, Lupo was appointed pastor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Calais, where he currently serves.
Effective July 6, Fr. Kevin Martin has been appointed as pastor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish (Immaculate Conception Church, Calais; St. Anne Church, Perry; St. Ann Church, Indian Township; St. James the Greater Church, Baileyville; St. John the Evangelist Church, Pembroke; and St. Joseph Church, Eastport).
Also a Caribou native, Fr. Martin was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Joseph J. Gerry, O.S.B., on July 19, 2003, at Holy Rosary Parish in Caribou. He served as parochial vicar at three Auburn parishes (Sacred Heart, St. Philip, and St. Louis) from 2003-2006, and spent the 2006-2007 academic year studying in Rome.
Upon his return to the diocese in August 2007, Martin was named parochial vicar of Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Parish and St. Peter Parish in Portland. In January 2009, in addition to his duties at the Cathedral and St. Peter, he was also named parochial vicar of Sacred Heart/St. Dominic Parish, Portland; St. Louis Parish, Portland; St. Christopher Parish, Peaks Island; and Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, Long Island. In July of 2010, Fr. Martin was named parochial vicar at St. Michael Parish in Augusta.
Since August 2012, Fr. Martin has served as pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Jackman and Holy Family Parish in Greenville.
Also retiring is Fr. Normand E. Carpentier. A Quantico, Va., native, Carpentier served at Holy Rosary in 1971.
He attended schools in Lewiston, Auburn, and Sherbrooke, Quebec, before studying for the priesthood at St. Mary’s Seminary and University, School of Theology in Baltimore, earning a master’s degree in divinity. Ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Edward C. O’Leary on May 8, 1971, at St. Louis Parish in Auburn, Carpentier’s first assignment was as associate pastor at Holy Rosary.
In May 1972, Carpentier was appointed associate pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madawaska, where he would serve until January 1977, when he was named associate pastor at St. Ignatius Parish in Sanford. In November 1978, he was appointed associate pastor of Holy Family Parish in Lewiston. In June 1981, he became pastor of St. James Parish in Woodland.
Two years later, he was elected by his brother priests to serve as a representative on the Diocesan Priests’ Senate. In September 1983, Carpentier was appointed pastor for collaborative ministry at Sacred Heart Parish in Portland. In December 1984, he was named diocese coordinator of the institutional chaplaincy program, coordinating chaplains at several hospitals around Maine.
In July 1987, Carpentier was appointed pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Winslow. In 1993, he served as temporary parochial vicar at Holy Cross Parish in Lewiston before being named pastor of St. Margaret Parish in Old Orchard Beach. He would serve the parishioners at St. Margaret for 10 years before being appointed pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Windham.
Since July 2009, he has served as parochial vicar at All Saints Parish in Brunswick.
