May 27, 2020

On Tuesday, May 19, 2020, Bishop LaValley met with the Priest Personnel Board and approved changes to assignments. Below please find the new assignments which will take effect on Wednesday, July 8. Please pray for the individuals and parishes involved, especially during this time of pandemic.

• Father Howard J. Venette, pastor of St. Mary’s in Ticonderoga and Our Lady of Lourdes in Schroon Lake, will become pastor of the parish configuration of St. Elizabeth’s in Elizabethtown, St. Philip Neri in Westport and The Catholic Community of St. Philip of Jesus and St. Joseph in Willsboro.

• Father Christopher J. Looby, pastor of St. Anthony’s and St. Patrick’s in Watertown will become pastor of St. Mary’s in Ticonderoga and Our Lady of Lourdes in Schroon Lake.

• Father John M. “Mickey” Demo, pastor of Holy Family in Watertown will also become pastor of St. Anthony’s and St. Patrick’s in Watertown. The new configuration was anticipated in the Living Stone Planning Process for Watertown. Fathers Deepak Baru, HGN and Herman Pongantung, MSC will become Parochial Vicars of the new configuration.

• Father Alan D. Shnob, pastor of St. Augustine’s in Peru begins retirement.

• Msgr. Dennis J. Duprey, V.F., special parochial vicar for St. Peter’s, St. John the Baptist and Our Lady of Victory churches in Plattsburgh, as well as St. John XXIII Newman Center, will become pastoral administrator of St. Augustine’s in Peru.

• Reverend Tojo Chacko, HGN, parochial vicar at St. Peter’s in Massena, will become parochial vicar in St. Peter’s, St. John the Baptist and Our Lady of Victory churches in Plattsburgh, as well as St. John XXIII Newman Center.

• Deacon Severinus Torwoe, deacon assistant at St. Mary’s in Ticonderoga, and Our Lady of Lourdes in Schroon Lake, will become deacon assistant at St. Peter’s Parish, Massena until his ordination to the priesthood. Upon priestly ordination he will become parochial vicar at St. Peter’s in Massena.

• Deacon Jude Nnadibuagha, deacon assistant at St. Peter’s Church in Lowville, St. Mary’s Church in Glenfield, and St. Hedwig’s Church in Houseville, will upon priestly ordination remain in place as parochial vicar.

Father Venette
Prior to his current assignment as pastor of St. Mary’s in Ticonderoga and Our Lady of Lourdes in Schroon Lake, a position he was appointed to effective Jan. 23, 2019, Father Howard J. Ventte was pastor of St. Bartholomew’s Church in Old Forge and St. Anthony of Padua Parish of Inlet and Raquette Lake, pastor of St. Mary’s in Potsdam and St. Patrick’s in Colton, pastor at St. Francis Solanus Church in Harrisville. He also served as administrator of the Catholic Community of Constable, Westville and Trout River, and at St. Mary’s in Brushton; and as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart in Massena, St. Mary’s in Potsdam, St. John’s in Plattsburgh, Notre Dame in Malone, and Our Lady of Victory in Plattsburgh.

Father Venette was born Jan. 14, 1958 in Chateaugay and began his studies for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall. He continued his education at the North American College at Rome and was ordained July 21, 1984 by Bishop Brzana at St. Patrick’s in Chateaugay.

In 1994, he was named associate director of the deacon formation program. He later served the diocese as director of the permanent deacon formation program from 1995 to 2001.

Father Venette left the diocese to join the Fraternity of St. Peter, a traditional Latin Rite Society in communion with Rome in June of 2004. In June 2009, he was excardinated from the Diocese of Ogdensburg and incardinated into the Society.

Father Venette returned to Ogdensburg in July of 2012 and served as temporary administrator in Waddington and Madrid before becoming administrator of the Catholic Community of Constable, Westville and Trout River.
His incardination back into the Diocese of Ogdensburg was effective May 1, 2013.

Father Looby
Prior to his current position in Watertown, Father Christopher J. Looby was pastor in Evans Mills, after first serving as administrator for the parish, as well as its missions in Theresa and Philadelphia.

Born July 26, 1970, he grew up in Harrisville and studied for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall and St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore.

Father Looby was ordained May 12, 2001, by Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito.

The priest has served as parochial vicar at St. Peter’s in Plattsburgh, Holy Family, Watertown; and St. Peter’s, Lowville.

In June 2009, he was named administrator in Brushton and North Bangor and, one year later, pastor of those parishes until his 2015 appointment in Evans Mills, Theresa and Philadelphia.

Father Demo
Father John M. “Mickey” Demo has been serving in Watertown since June 26, 2019, when he was appointed pastor at Holy Family Church.

Before arriving in Watertown in June 2019, Father John M. “Mickey” Demo was pastor in Dannemora and Redford for six years, and he served as administrator in Willsboro and Essex prior to that assignment.

He has previously served as pastor in St. Ann’s in St. Regis Falls and Church of the Holy Cross in Hopkinton; parochial vicar at St. Bernard’s in Saranac Lake, Holy Family in Watertown, St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg and Notre Dame in Ogdensburg, and St. James Minor in Carthage; and administrator in St. Patrick’s in Chateaugay and St. George’s Church in Burke.

A native of Brasher Falls, he was born March 7, 1961. He graduated from LeMoyne College in Syracuse before beginning studies for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall and St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Mass. Father Demo was ordained Sept. 24, 1988 by Bishop Stanislaus J. Brzana.

After ordination, Father Demo continued his education, studying philosophy at Catholic University from 1995 to 1996.

Father Shnob
Father Alan D. Shnob has served as pastor of St. Augustine’s Church in Peru since 2005. He had served previously at St. Mary’s in Massena for 10 years.

He is 70 years old.

A native of Mooers Forks, Father Shnob studied for the priest­hood at Wadhams Hall and Christ the King seminaries before his ordination May 6, 1978, by Bishop Brzana.

Father Shnob's first assign­ment was as assistant pastor at Notre Dame in Ogdensburg. In 1981, he was named bishop's secretary and associate chancellor.

One year later he was named associate pastor of St. Joseph's in Malone.

He served for two months in 1983 as administrator in Chazy before being released to serve outside the diocese at St. Columban's Parish in Cornwall, Ontario.

Upon his return to the diocese in 1986, Father Shnob was named parochial vicar in Peru and pastor in West Chazy before being named pastor in Ticonderoga in 1991. Two years later he was given added responsibility as pastor in Crown Point until his 1995 appointment in Massena.

Msgr. Duprey
Msgr. Dennis J. Duprey, became pastor at St. Peter's in Plattsburgh in 2010. Prior to that assignment, he served as pastor in Malone, first at Notre Dame Church and then for the Malone Catholic Parishes, now St. André Bessette Parish, in 2003.

A native of Mooers Forks, Msgr. Duprey was born March 19, 1945.

He studied for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall Seminary, St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester and the University of Louvain in Belgium. He was ordained at Louvain June 27, 1970, by Archbishop Ignio Cardinale, papal nuncio to Belgium.

Msgr. Duprey’s first assignment was as assistant pastor at Notre Dame in Malone. In 1974, he was named associate diocesan director of the Religious Education Department and assistant pastor at Notre Dame in Ogdensburg. Five years later, he was appointed director of religious education, a position he held until 1986 the year he became director of Priest Personnel, a position he held until 1997. He has also served as Co-Vicar for Religious of Diocese from 1994 to 2004.

Msgr. Duprey also served as a prison chaplain from 1983 to 2003 first at Ogdensburg Correction Facility, and also at Upstate Correctional Facility in Malone. Through the years, he has been an advocate for criminal justice issues of the state and local level, as well as a member of the New York State Catholic Conference Public Policy Committee on Criminal Justice Issues.

From 1992 to 1994, Msgr. Duprey was administrator in Hammond and Rossie.

He also served as Dean of the Franklin Deanery.

Father Tojo Chacko, HGN
Father Tojo Chacko, a priest from the Herald of the Good News (HGN) Mother Theresa Province, India, has served as a parochial vicar in Massena since 2010, first appointed to Sacred Heart and St. Lawrence churches, now with St. Peter’s Parish.

Father Tojo, now age 35, was born in Changanassery, Kottayam, Kerala, India. He made his first profession with the Heralds of the Good News on Aug. 6, 2005. Me made his final profession on July 6, 2008 and was ordained to the priesthood on Jan. 2, 2009.

Deacon Severinus Torwoe
Deacon Severinus Torwoe was ordained a deacon in October 2019 by Bishop Terry R. LaValley.

Born in Hlefi, Ghana, Deacon Torwoe received a bachelor’s degree in education at University of Cape Coast, Ghana, in 2008. He then studied philosophy and theology at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, where he obtained a master’s degree in theology in 2017.

In 2018, he received a post masters certificate in theology from Holy Apostles.

Deacon Jude Nnadibuagha
Deacon Jude Nnadibuagha was ordained a deacon in October 2019.

Born in Ideato North Local Government Area, Imo State, Nigeria, he is 36 years old.

Deacon Nnadibuagha obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Dominican Institute of Philosophy and

Theology in Samonda Ibadan, Nigeria in 2013 and a bachelor’s degree in theology from Collegio Pontificio Teologico Internazionale in Rome, Italy in 2017.