Interviewed by Peggy Hickey

Born in Ghana, West Africa, Fr. Augustine is the middle child of 7 children, 6 boys and 1 girl, raised in modest circumstances, in a family of staunchly, devout Catholics. His eldest brothers is also a priest. Fr. Augustine will soon be an uncle again. His married sister, who now lives in Trenton, NJ, is expecting her first child He already has two nephews and three nieces.

 Family prayer was a daily event in Fr. Augustine’s life and he is a big promoter of the need for families to gather together in prayer. In his family, each member takes turns leading the family in prayer. They choose a scripture reading and prepare their thoughts on the scripture to share with the family. They also lead the rosary. When Fr. Augustine is struggling with something or feels homesick, he holds onto the image of his family gathered in their living room, praying and that gives him great peace and a sense that all is well.

 Fr. Augustine admits to being a quiet but “stubborn” child who did not like school at all, in fact, he adamantly refused to go to school. Rev. Phillip K. Boateng, a Diocesan priest, seeing the stubborn streak in the child, offered a deal to him. Fr. Phillip asked him to go to school to learn for him and in return, Fr. Philip would bring him toys and candy. Fr. Augustine, believing he was doing this priest a favor by learning for him, accepted the deal and went to school and lived up to his part to learn. Fr. Phillip, true to his word, supplied the candy and toys. Fr. Phillip became a close friend and a big influence in Fr. Augustine’s life; he died when Fr. Augustine was in high school.

 This is the second trip to the United States for Fr. Augustine. He was a foreign exchange student and attended Raytown South High School in Kansas City, Mo. in his senior year. He came here as a young man filled with a sense of adventure. In his country, they have heard many wonderful things about the USA and he was anxious to be here. Of course, once here, he found out that the perfect image, many people in other countries have of the US, is far from the truth; nevertheless, he enjoyed his year here very much and planned to return to attend college. 

Returning home, he had mixed feelings, he wanted to return here but also felt God calling him to the priesthood. Fr. Augustine knew at a young age that God wanted him to be a priest, for him it was a matter of timing and after seeking the advice of his Spiritual Director, he knew it was time for him to answer God’s call. Instead of returning to the US, he entered the seminary. During his time of formation to the priesthood, Fr. Augustine struggled with fears of not being equipped to serve God’s people. He prayed, often telling God to give his vocation to his brother, whom he felt was far better equipped to serve in his place. Many times he invited the Lord to send him to do something else. He struggled with these thoughts and fears right up to the time he prostrated himself in the Diocesan Cathedral to receive ordination from the Bishop. Lying on the Cathedral floor, he told God that he had given Him every opportunity to send him out of the priesthood but He didn’t and so Fr. Augustine demanded of God all the gifts he would need to be a good priest. As he continued lying on the floor, he could feel God’s presence descend on him and fill him. He knew then that God would provide all he needed when he needed it.

Fr. Augustine would like to remind us to always trust in God’s will for our lives. He points out that many times we prescribe to God the best solution to whatever our problem is at the time and when we don’t get that solution, we think God is not listening to us. God only says “no” to us when the solution we prescribe is not the best for us because He will not settle for giving us less than the very best. If we trust our lives to God, we must also trust in His timing.

He is pursuing his Master of Arts degree at Fordham University. He spends his free time reading, traveling, observing nature, going to the movies, watching sports (soccer, horse racing, golf) and listening to country music.

Fr. Augustine wants us all to know how much he enjoys serving the people of our parish. He’s very grateful for the warm welcome he’s received from so many parishioners.