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September 3, 2019Before a packed crowd of Parishioners at Notre Dame Church in Springvale, Bishop Deeley officially installed Father Wilfred Labbe as pastor of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish (Holy Family Church, Sanford; Notre Dame Church, Springvale) and St. Matthew Parish in Limerick. Knights of Columbus Honor Guard were on hand to accompany the Bishop.
The Honor Guard accompanying the procession
Bishop Deeley
Bishop Deeley celebrating mass with Father Labbe at far right
“My first and most important priority is to teach and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am to remind us all that we are beloved children of God and thus called to be holy and extraordinary,” Fr. Labbe wrote to parishioners upon his appointment as pastor. “In word and action, I am to, with the help of the Holy Spirit, help us all be the best version of ourselves that we can be.”
Our New Pastor, Father Labbe
Born in Biddeford, Fr. Labbe was raised in South Carolina and graduated from Greenville High School in Greenville, South Carolina. He attended Saint John’s Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, earning a bachelor’s degree from the seminary college and a master’s degree in divinity from the seminary. Fr. Labbe was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Joseph J. Gerry, O.S.B., on May 22, 1999, at St. Joseph Church in Biddeford.
His first pastoral assignment was as parochial vicar of Holy Cross Parish in Lewiston, where he also served as the chaplain at Bates College in Lewiston. In July of 2003, he was appointed pastor of St. Mary Parish in Eagle Lake and St. Joseph Parish in Wallagrass. In June of 2005, Fr. Labbe was named administrator of Our Lady of Wisdom Parish in Orono, St. Mary Parish in Orono, and Holy Family Parish in Old Town. In addition to his parish duties, Fr. Labbe served as the chaplain at the University of Maine at Orono. In July of 2007, in addition to his responsibilities in Orono and Old Town, Fr. Labbe was appointed administrator of St. Ann Parish in Bradley and St. Ann Parish in Indian Island.