In the 20 years since his ordination, Fr Philip Alesin has continued his vocation as a priest – first in the Diocese of Ekiti in Nigeria, his country of birth, then Glasgow, Brisbane and now the Diocese of Parramatta – despite not always being in a parish full-time.
As a supply priest in the Diocese, he fills in on weekends when priests are unavailable, or if they need an extra pair of hands ministering the sacraments. In this capacity, he has already ministered at more than 10 parishes since he arrived in the Diocese more than three years ago.
He does this mostly on weekends, as his Monday-to-Friday job as the Policy and Advocacy Officer for Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD) keeps him busy.
Discerning the way
The path that led Fr Philip to where he is now, via many years of academic study culminating in a PhD from The University of Queensland, began on his family’s cocoa farm in rural Nigeria.
He is one of 13 children, and when he was growing up, family life largely revolved around faith and the farm.
When Catholicism first arrived in the village, his grandfather’s house was the site for the first Masses. He remembers his father was very religious and all the family would attend Mass regularly.
Fr Philip Alesin distributes Communion during the Memorial Mass for the late CSPD Executive Director Greg Whitby at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta. Image: Gene Ramirez/CSPD
“I wasn’t as pious as my elder brother, who was an altar server, but along the way, I became a member of Charismatic Renewal, and it was with that group that I started thinking about the priesthood,” Fr Philip says.
When he finished school, he decided to enrol in a civil engineering degree at university “because I was very good at science”. He lasted one semester before returning home to tell his father he wanted to join the seminary.
“I started rethinking my path; is that what God really wants me to do?” he says of his decision.
“My dad initially wasn’t happy, partly because he paid a lot of money. On the other hand, I knew that deep down he would be happy that God had answered his prayer (to have a priest in the family).”
The pull of further study
After nine years at the seminary, Fr Philip graduated with an honours degree in philosophy, writing his dissertation of Hegel’s conception of war, as well as a degree in theology, and began life as a parish priest in rural Nigeria, where he remained for almost a decade.
The rhythm of rural life meant long periods of solitude when villagers were busy on their farms. It was during this time Fr Philip remembers occupying himself by following important global events, such as wars and other conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. This eventually kindled in him a desire to return to university.
His initial studies had made him appreciate “the value of human life when you see how lives are wasted around the world… and knowing that life is God’s gift and that it shouldn’t be taken for any reason”.
He was awarded a scholarship to do a Master’s degree at the University of Glasgow, where his thesis focused on conflicts in northern Nigeria. This, in turn got him thinking about doing a doctorate on the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance to people displaced by war.
In 2017, he received a scholarship to do a PhD at The University of Queensland, which he completed in 2021. “That was how I found myself in Australia,” he says. “This is where God wants me to be.”
After that, he moved to Sydney in 2022, taking jobs first at St Vincent’s Care Services as a pastoral care coordinator, then at Catholic Healthcare, before landing the role with CSPD in 2024.
Fr Philip Alesin (centre) during a Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese gathering of Clergy, Principals and Religious Education Coordinators at West HQ, Rooty Hill. Image: Gene Ramirez/CSPD
“It is all about how we influence government policies to serve the interests of Catholic education,” Fr Philip says. “But being a Catholic organisation, we are also interested in social justice matters, as well as First Nations affairs.” On these, he coordinates submissions to parliament, writes reports and more. He also coordinates CSPD’s Laudato Si’ Action Plan project, and is working on its next Closing the Gap Report.
Continuing his vocation
But since the time Fr Philip left Nigeria, and his role as parish priest, he has continued his priestly vocation wherever he has been, whether it was studying in Glasgow and Brisbane, or working in Sydney.
“I never contemplated leaving the priesthood for anything because the two can always go together,” he says.
When he arrived in Sydney, Fr Philip got in touch with the chaplain for the Nigerian Catholic Community, and from there was gradually introduced to Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Vicar General Fr Peter Williams AM and others in the Diocese of Parramatta.
He is now living at the clergy residence at St Patrick’s Cathedral, where he celebrates some weekday Masses. And since June, he’s spent weekends at St Matthew’s Parish, Windsor, helping with Masses and other sacraments, as well as at other parishes when he can.
“I’ve always built relationships with parishioners wherever I go. I’m privileged to meet so many people. So, the idea of being a priest relating with the people of God and interacting with the people of God remains part and parcel of my life.”
This article was originally published in the 2025 Advent & Christmas | Summer edition of the Catholic Outlook Magazine. You can read the digital version here or pick up a copy in your local parish.
