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Parochial VicarFr. Agustin Sebasthiyan, HGN, (“Fr. Agustin”), began ministering in the Portland Peninsula & Island Parishes on July 30, 2021 when he was appointed parochial vicar at the Portland Peninsula and Island Parishes (Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Parish, Portland; Sacred Heart/St. Dominic Parish, Portland; St. Christopher Parish, Peaks Island; St. Louis Parish, Portland; St. Peter Parish, Portland).
Previously, Fr. Agustin was the parochial vicar of Holy Spirit Parish (St. Mary Church, Wells; St. Martha Church, Kennebunk; All Saints Church, Ogunquit). Born in 1983, Fr. Agustin is a native of A. Kalathupatty, a town in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. He holds bachelor’s degrees from Annamalai University and Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University, both located in Tamil Nadu. He completed his clerical studies at Heralds College in Poonamallee, India (2000-2002), St. John’s Major Seminary in Kurnool, India (2002-2006), and St. Don Bosco in Hyderabad, India (2006-2007). He was ordained to the priesthood on May 3, 2011, at the Heralds of Good News in Melavalady, India. Since his ordination, Fr. Agustin has served as an assistant parish priest in four Indian towns: Rayapeta and Ambattur (2011-2012), Christu Nagar (2012-2013), and Naduvalur (2013-2014). In 2014, he was appointed principal of Divine Mercy School in the Diocese of Nalgonda, located in the province of Hyderabad, India, where he served until arriving in Maine in June of 2017.
His first assignment in Maine was parochial as the parochial vicar at the Parish of the Precious Blood in Caribou. In July of 2019, he was appointed parochial vicar at Holy Spirit Parish.
Fr. Agustin is a member of the Heralds of Good News (HGN), a missionary society of apostolic life started in India in 1984. The specific aim of the Heralds is to promote vocations to the priesthood and the training of seminarians.