Born in Marangu, Tanzania, Fr. Amandus B. Sway, AJ was ordained to the priesthood on July 14, 2001, by Bishop Amedeus Msarikie at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Moshi, Tanzania. Since his ordination, Fr. Sway has served as a parish priest in South Africa (2002-2010) and as a zonal councilor secretary in the Diocese of Klerksdorp, South Africa (2010-2015). In 2015, he moved to the United States and served as a chaplain for the Diocese of Cleveland. In September 2016, he was appointed parochial vicar at the Parish of the Ascension of the Lord in the Diocese of Portland. Fr. Sway began serving as a hospital chaplain at Mercy Hospital and Maine Medical Center in February 2018, and often assists in the Portland Peninsula & Island Parishes with weekday and weekend Masses.
Fr. Sway earned diplomas in philosophy, religious studies, and theology from Apostles of Jesus Philosophicum Langata in Nairobi, Kenya; a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from Theologicum Langata in Nairobi, which is affiliated with the Pontificia Università Urbaniana in Rome, Italy; and a master’s degree in theology from St. Augustine’s College of South Africa in Johannesburg.
The Apostles of Jesus (AJ) missionaries serve around the world in the ministries of primary evangelization, pastoral care of the sick, and chaplaincy to college and university students. The missionary society also ministers to impoverished, abandoned, and homeless children.