Christmas came a week early for four extern priests serving in Brooklyn and Queens when Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio incardinated them into the presbyterate of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

The newly incardinated are Fathers Robert Ambalathingal, Saint Martin Estiverne, Thaddeus J. Abraham and Walter G. Lawson.

Fathers Abraham, Ambalathingal and Lawson were incardinated during a noontime Mass at the diocesan Chancery Dec. 18. Father Estiverne was privately incardinated.

“They’re now officially priests of the Diocese of Brooklyn,” explained Deacon Julio Barreneche, secretary for clergy personnel. “They’re not going back to their original dioceses. They will be here forever.”

To be incardinated means to become a permanent part of a diocese under a promise of obedience to the diocesan bishop, like a diocesan priest. At the moment of incardination, the priest becomes excardinated from his previous diocese or religious order.

In the last decade, the Brooklyn Diocese has incardinated about 18 priests from various backgrounds and countries. Each has undergone a fiveyear review process.

At the Dec. 18 Mass, the priests professed and signed the oath of incardination while Msgr. Anthony Hernandez, diocesan chancellor, stood as witness. Bishop DiMarzio also signed the oaths and greeted his new priests.

“They bring their own culture, languages and customs to help with the evangelization of our diocese,” said Deacon Julio, who served at the incardination Mass.

Father Ambalathingal

Originally from Kerala, India, Father Ambalathingal, one of eight children, attended Catholic schools and daily Mass in his youth.

Following in the footsteps of two older sisters, at age 15, he entered the Discalced Carmelite Order and wasordained on Jan. 8, 1996.After ordination, he served at Juan Jyothi Theology College, Ernakulam, India.

While studying spirituality in Spain, he spent summers assisting at St. John the Evangelist, Park Slope. After an assignment in Portugal, he returned to Brooklyn in 2003.

He’s lived in residence at Our Lady of Guadalupe, Bensonhurst; Most Precious Blood and St. Rita, both Long Island City; and Holy Name, Park Slope. He’s been the administrator of St. Pius V, Jamaica, for almost two years.

Since 2006, he also has coordinated the diocesan Indian Latin Rite Apostolate.

Fluent in Malayalam, Spanish, Portuguese and English, he enjoys the different cultures and languages in the diocese, particularly in his parish.

Father Estiverne

Named for St. Martin de Porres, Father Saint Martin Estiverne, one of 11 children, was educated in Catholic and Protestant schools in his native Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

He discerned his vocation with the Brothers of the Sacred Heart before entering the archdiocesan seminary. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince on April 13, 1997. His brother, Father Julien Estiverne, was also ordained for the archdiocese.

As a seminarian, he spent a year in Brazil, and returned there after ordination to minister in the Amazon, Rio Branco and Sao Paolo.

In June, 2004, he arrived in East Flatbush to visit his friend, Father Gerald Dumont, then-pastor of St. Catherine of Genoa, and saw that he could be of service to the diocese.

He’s lived in residence at St. Therese of Lisieux, E. Flatbush, and St. Matthew, Crown Heights.

A hospital chaplain, he ministers at SUNY Downstate, E. Flatbush, and Queens Hospital, Jamaica, and formerly at Maimonides Medical Center, Borough Park.

Fluent in Creole, French, Portuguese, Spanish and English, he is presently in residence at St. Nicholas of Tolentine, Jamaica.

Father Lawson

Born in Colon, Panama, Father Lawson, the second of four children, was active in his parish, Our Lady of Carmen, where he met the Claretian Missionaries. He was ordained to the order on Jan. 11, 2003.

As a Claretian, he served in Panama arriving in Brooklyn as a summer assistant at Holy Cross, Flatbush, in 2005. Seeing the need for priests, he decided to stay.

He served as programming director for Radio Maria in New York, 2006-2010, while in residence at St. Gerard Majella, Hollis.

Since 2010, he’s been parochial vicar of Our Lady of Sorrows, Corona, and is assistant spiritual director of the diocesan youth ministry, Jovenes de Valor. Fluent in Spanish and English, he holds degrees in psychology, philosophy, theology, liturgy and communications.

“The (Brooklyn) diocese is a huge and extensive territory of work and mission to carry the Word of God,” Father Lawson said. “The desire I feel” is to work with the people, “to be part of them and to participate in their journey of faith.”

Father Abraham

A native of Bangalore, India, Father Abraham is one of 10 children in a vocation-rich family. Four sons went on to be priests, and several nieces and nephews have entered religious life.

Father Abraham attended Catholic schools and joined the Franciscans at age 16.

After seven years with the Franciscans, during which time he helped found two mission schools, he explored other religious orders. He entered the Secular Institute of Our Lady, India, and was ordained on April 27, 1991.

In 1994, he began graduate studies at St. John’s University, Jamaica, while residing at Holy Family, Flushing.

He’s served at St. Nicholas of Tolentine, Jamaica; St. Margaret, Middle Village; St. Ephrem, Dyker Heights; Mary’s Nativity, Ozone Park; and as chaplain at Flushing Hospital and New York Hospital Queens, both Flushing.

For the last three years, he’s been a parochial vicar at St. Sebastian, Woodside.

Fluent in several Indian languages and English, he has studied systematic theology and theological anthropology, with a concentration on Paul Tillich.

“This diocese is a beautiful diocese: loving people, very vibrant, a mixture of so many people,” he said.

“I always feel a fulfillment of ‘You’ve never wasted a day,’ and God uses me in beautiful ways.”