Fr. Cyril Okebanama, S.M.M.M.
Current Administrator
St. Anne (Mattawa), St. Thomas d'Aquin (Astorville), St. Bernadette (Bonfield), and Sacred Heart of Jesus (Corbeil).
Father Cyril Okebanama hails from Ihitte/Uboma local government Area of Imo State, Nigeria. Fr. Cyril, who was brought up in a devout Catholic home, is the fifth of seven surviving children. Both of his parents were teachers.
As a young child and in his youth, Fr. Cyril was actively involved in his parish. He served as an altar server and was a member of the Block Rosary, a group that gathered each evening to say the Rosary and to also do corporal works of mercy. In his parish, Fr. Cyril was always the person who was chosen to help the local seminarians when they were engaging in apostolic work in their parish.
Fr Cyril is a member of the Sons of Mary, Mother of Mercy Congregation (S.M.M.M), a Religious Order. Prior to becoming a priest, Fr. Cyril pursued 11 years of study prior to being ordained on July 9, 2011 in Nigeria. It was four years after ordination, where Fr. Cyril was called by his Superior to go on a Mission to Canada, to work under Bishop Mulhall for the Diocese of Pembroke in 2015. Fr. Cyril has happily been here ever since. For close to 10 years, Fr. Cyril has served as pastor and/or administrator at various parishes in our Diocese, including his original posting at ABC Parishes (2017-2020). This was followed by serving as Pastor at St. Theresa's in Temiskaming and Our Lady of the Lake Mission in Kipawa (2020-2024), followed by his current assignment to move to Mattawa and serve the parishioners at St.Anne and the parish communities of Astorville, Bonfield and Corbeil.
Fr. Cyril's inspiration in becoming a priest emanates very simply from his love of God and humanity. He finds great gratitude in hearing confession as it gives him great joy to help people reconcile with God, which he finds essential in the worship of God. He says, "Those who put their trust in God are like Mount Zion - they cannot be shaken and they stand forever. No one should ever forget that to be near God is the greatest happiness."
Rev. Tim Foster
Permanent Deacon
St. Thomas d'Aquin (Astorville), and Sacred Heart of Jesus (Corbeil)
Deacon Tim Foster, who was born in Cochane, Ontario, settled in Astorville in 1986. Together, with his wife, Suzanne, they raised a beautiful family of four children. They now have four wonderful grandchildren. Tim Foster is a former Ontario Provincial Police Officer, who through various supervisory roles, served with the OPP for over 30 years, A few years prior to retirement, a priest and friend, Fr. Jean Marc Raymond, former pastor in Astorville, and Deacon Albert Benoit from Bonfield, planted the seed "to serve" in a different way, this time to serve God and his parish as a permanent deacon. Tim answered the call, and after completing his formation through the STEP program at the McGraph Institute of Notre Dame University in Indiana, Tim was ordained a permanent deacon by Bishop M. Mulhall at St. Thomas d'Aquin parish in 2014.
For the past 10 years, Deacon Tim Foster has become a tremendous asset to the ABC parish community, serving and supporting our parishioners and the various priests who have resided here. However, when the change was made in 2023, where a resident priest would no longer be residing within our local community, Deacon Tim (now under the administration of St. Anne's in Mattawa) continued to serve tirelessly, meeting the needs of our parishioners....from assisting the Mattawa priest at weekly Mass in Corbeil, and once a month in Bonfield and Mattawa; to holding Liturgies of the Word at Nipissing Manor; to distributing Holy Communion to shut-ins in their homes, presiding over baptisms, wedding ceremonies, funerals and burials. Deacon Tim continues to serve, so that our parishioners may continue to grow and live their Catholic faith in their communities.​
Rev. Albert Benoit
Permanent Deacon
St. Bernadette (Bonfield)
Deacon Albert Benoit was born in Bonfield, Ontario. Together with his wife, Charlotte, they have 2 children, 2 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. As part of Albert’s ordination story, Albert has the distinction of becoming the very first permanent deacon to be ordained in the Diocese of Pembroke. Ordained on September 11, 1982, at St. Bernadette’s parish by Bishop Joseph Windle, Albert has served his community for over 40 years.
Throughout Albert’s years in Bonfield, Albert has been present during many key moments in the church’s history, including the installation of a new altar from Chiswick’s St. Louis de France parish, which arrived on the occasion of St. Bernadette’s 100th Anniversary in 2006. Albert is also known for starting the Family Life Centre, located next to the parish. Albert’s years of service also includes a period of 8 years where he was involved in pastoral care at the jail and at the hospital in North Bay, including serving on the Ontario Multi-Faith Council during this period.
In recent years, Albert was able to reduce his duties and enjoy somewhat of a semi-retirement, by continuing to prepare students for the sacraments and preside over prayers at funeral home services. However, in 2023, (with the administrative change of A-B-C parishes being moved under Mattawa), Albert was invited to return to full-time duties, which he gladly accepted, where he was once again serving the community, presiding over baptisms, weddings, funerals and burials.
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