Staff Member

Father Arulanantham (Arul) Yagappan, MSFS, was born on May 13, 1970 as the sixth child and the last son of the Yagappan family in Trichy, Tamilnadu, India. After his high school graduation, he wanted to become a missionary and joined the religious congregation of the Missionaries of St. Francis De Sales (Fransalians). He was ordained to the priesthood on January 27, 1997. Father Arul earned a B.A. in Education from Bundlekhand University, U.P. and a Master of Arts degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India.

As a missionary, he served in different parts of Andrapredesh (A.P.) and Tamilnadu as a high school vice principal and as director for the Home for the Ages for 10 years in India. In 2005, he was sent to serve on the island of St. Lucia, West Indies as a parish pastor. In 2013, he was sent to serve in the Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida, where for the next eight years, he served in the parishes of St. Paul, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. John the Evangelist.

At the direction of the Fransalian Provincial Very Rev. Tomy, MSFS and the request of Bishop Luis Zarama, Father Arul was sent to serve in the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina. He joined our Good Shepherd Parish in Hope Mills in June of 2021 and formally installed as our pastor by Bishop Luis in January 2022. Father Arul led us through the Covid pandemic and in recovering, rebuilding and strengthening our parish.

We are blessed to have Father Arul lead our flock as we continue to see our parish grow in faith, hope and love! We are a thriving parish community that is dedicated to building the Kingdom of God here and now, through the humble and practical nature of the Fransalian spirituality, as One Family of Faith.