FR. SUNNY SEBASTIAN
Fr. Sunny Sebastian, the Associate Pastor of the parish for the last two years is a priest from the catholic diocese of Irinjalakuda of the Syro-Malabar Church of Kerala India. He was born in Kottayam a southern district of Kerala in 1966 in a traditional catholic family as the 7th of the eight children. He has four brothers and three sisters and 17 nephews and nieces. . When he was 9 years old the family moved to Thrissur, a town in the central part of Kerala. As his parents were very religious and practicing Catholics from the very young age itself he had shown much interest in attending Holy Mass, Sunday Catechism and pious associations. His membership and participation in Cherupushpa Mission League, the largest catholic organisation for young people in India, and the good example of certain committed parish priests helped him to nurture his desire to become a priest. So when he completed his High school (grade 10) he had no doubt of which way to choose. In 1981 he joined St. Mary’s Minor Seminary Thrissur to pursue his seminary studies.
At the completion of his seminary formation in St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary Kottayam he was ordained a priest on 1st of July 1992. The motto he took at the time ordination is “Broken to be Shared” During his seminary studies he took B.A in philosophy from Kerala University, and Bachelor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Theology from the Pontifical Institute of Oriental Studies, Kottayam, Kerala. He served as parish priest in 7 parishes in the diocese and also as the diocesan director of Christian Life Communities (CLC). During his parish ministry he found time to attend college and completed Masters in English Literature in 1996 and in Social Work in 2003. In the parishes he has led the people from the front for construction of churches, establishing new parishes, and various social activities aiming at the integral development of communities. In between he also found time to work as a counsellor in the De-addiction Centre run by the diocese.
At the invitation of the then Archbishop Dr. Thomas Collins Fr. Sunny came to Edmonton on 14th February 2007, and was appointed the associate pastor at St. Theresa’s/ Corpus Christi Parishes. Along with his responsibilities at the parish he also does service to the Kerala Catholic Community in Edmonton by offering Holy Mass for them once in a month, leading them in various social and cultural programmes, and attending to the needs of the new comers from Kerala and other parts of India. Being a trained social worker he has registered himself with the Alberta College of Social Workers which allow him to work as a Registered Social Worker (RSW) in Alberta.
Reading is his main hobby. He also finds time to watch movies, TV news programmes, to spend time with friends and play cards.
According to him it has been a blessing to have got the opportunity to serve the people of God in Mill Woods. The cultural diversity and the warmth of relationship experienced here make him feel at home. What makes him most happy is to spend each moment of his life for the good of others who are in need and he thinks it makes his life meaningful. What is most important is not to do great things but to remain faithful to Christ and His Church.
Fr. Sunny invites you to visit: Kerala Catholic Community of Edmonton www.catholicmalayalees.ca