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| St. Michael the Archangel Melkite Catholic Church |
| Webmaster: Christine Samir Sweiss |
| About Us |
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Materials from www.melkite.org and used with permission.
Melkites serve as a witness to the Roman Catholic Church. We have, for centuries, maintained such practices as a married clergy, the
election of bishops by the Church as a whole, collegial government and so forth. Many of these features are unknown to Roman Catholics
and many Catholics feel that our practices may be more suited to today's world than their Roman counterpoint. Our presence is a
witness to the universality of the Catholic Church.
Melkites also serve as a witness to the Eastern Orthodox Churches. To the extent that we are true to ourselves, we exist as a living
example that one can be true to a different heritage and yet be truly Catholic, i.e. in communion with Rome. Thus we exist as an
example, for good or bad, of what other Churches can expect if and when they too achieve a union with the Church of Rome.
Melkites also provide a different option for people searching for Christ. Any church exists to bring its people to Christ. There are many
for who the 'style of Christian living' practiced in our Church is more compatible than contemporary Western forms. For these people
the Melkite Church can serve a very important function; it can be their way to God.
election of bishops by the Church as a whole, collegial government and so forth. Many of these features are unknown to Roman Catholics
and many Catholics feel that our practices may be more suited to today's world than their Roman counterpoint. Our presence is a
witness to the universality of the Catholic Church.
Melkites also serve as a witness to the Eastern Orthodox Churches. To the extent that we are true to ourselves, we exist as a living
example that one can be true to a different heritage and yet be truly Catholic, i.e. in communion with Rome. Thus we exist as an
example, for good or bad, of what other Churches can expect if and when they too achieve a union with the Church of Rome.
Melkites also provide a different option for people searching for Christ. Any church exists to bring its people to Christ. There are many
for who the 'style of Christian living' practiced in our Church is more compatible than contemporary Western forms. For these people
the Melkite Church can serve a very important function; it can be their way to God.
| St. Michael's Beginnings |
| In the early 1970’s immigrants from Jordan began settling in the Chicago region. Mostly nearby small town called Hegewisch. Many of these people came from Melkite religious background. Upon settling in the area, they needed a church, a Melkite church to continue their religious beliefs. They finally found a church, a Melkite church, St. John the Baptist in North Lake, IL. However the distance of the church made it a bit problematic. With the few who were willing to drive the distance, they were able to meet Fr. Cyril Haddad pastor of St. Johns. They discussed their situation and agreed on Fr. Cyril coming to south side to serve their religious ceremonies, such as weddings, baptisms, and funerals. Since there was no church, the ceremonies were usually held in halls or in people’s homes. He continued serving the community until his retirement in 1978. With the arrival of Fr. Nicholas Samra (now titular bishop of Gerasa) in 1978 and the visit of Archbishop Joseph Tawil (Memory Eternal) in May 1979, the idea of a mission named for St. Michael the Archangel was born by 25 men in the home of George M. Haddad. There were then 41 families totaling 112 persons, mostly from Jerash, Husn, Zarka, Salt, Madaba, and Fuheis, all cities in the greater Jordan. After meetings with John Cardinal Cody, Fr. Nicholas was able to rent St. Columbia church, a Roman Catholic Church, in began serving Divine Liturgy every Sunday evening at 7:30 until the end of 1980, when he was transferred to St. Ann’s in West Paterson, NJ. His dedication and enthusiasm as founder, and his continued interest and prayers will never be forgotten. In January of 1981 a new pastor was assigned to St. John and St. Michaels, Father Edward G. Kakaty. Father Ed’s fluency in Arabic assured the community of homilies and many gospel readings in their own tongue. However, the mission community had to find another church to worship in. So they rented a Baptist Church with an option to buy, then the Lebanon Lutheran church which was the most gracious host to the community until the end of 1982, when Steve E. Haddad an altar server spotted a church for sale in the nearby Hammond Community. After Praying in four churches, the parishioners of St. Michael were anxious to own their own church. Father Ed negotiated with the owners, and the Pentecostals agreed to the offer of $35,000! The building, originally a synagogue in 1919, was in need of many repairs, including a new roof, furnace, and remodeling to be suitable for Byzantine style worship. Archbishop Joseph Tawil agreed to send $25,000 from the St. Nicholas guild and Father Ed secured a generous grand of $30,000 from the Catholic Church extension society, headed by Cardinal Bernadine and Father Edward Slattery. On Mothers Day, 1983 Archbishop Joseph Tawil and many priest celebrated the Door Opening ceremony of the new church at 619 Sibley street in Hammond Indiana. Then on October 11, 1983 the church hosted the annual Melkite Clergy conference with vespers and reception in the hall. In attendance were the Bishop Gary, Most Reverend Andrew Grutka; Archbishop Joseph Tawil, Archbishop Neophytus Edelby, Metropolitan of Aleppo, Syria; forty-four priests, a deacon and a nun. The growing responsibilities of Fr. Kakaty, especially after St. Johns community winning the bid for the 1992 National Melkite Convention, led Archbishop Ibrahim Ghattas to nominate Fr. Albert Wehby, ABO, as the new pastor of St. Michael. Hence on September 1st, 1990 Fr. Albert became the first full time resident pastor for St. Michaels community. With Fr. Albert’s arrival, the parish began to take shape and organize itself more. The new pastor shared their Arabian heritage as he was from Aleppo Syria. He resided in St. John Bosco Roman Catholic rectory in Hammond IN. Father Albert’s full time and active residency, unfortunately did not last to long. Two years after his arrival, he was reassigned to replace Fr. Kakaty by taking over his responsibilities In the Metro-Chicago area, while still administering in Hammond. In August of 1995 the community of St. Michael was assigned a new administrator from Lebanon, Fr. Robert Rabbat. Fr. Rabbat resided at ST. John Boscos rectory and began his pastoral service which ended on July 1st, 2003. Prior to Father Rabbats arrival, the small but growing community of St. Michael was struggling to meet its expenses. The building had its own expenses and the community was faced, for the first time, with the charges of a full time priest, Fr. Wehby. A monthly donation from the Eparchy and bingo evens compensated for the shortages in donations. On October 15th, 1995 Bishop John A. Elya (now Bishop Emirtus) informed Fr. Robert that it was time for St. Michael’s community to become financially independent. By rallying itself around its pastor, the community was able to achieve this goal by Christmas of that same year as a gift to the Eparch. The parishioners began to increase their personal donations and organize money generating events (i.e. Social gatherings, bake sales, rummage sales, etc…), thus forgoing the Eparchies monthly donation and the bingo incomes by December. Sunday school was established, Sunday morning services were celebrated from time to time, and the Sunday attendance began to increase averaging around 75 parishioners per week. In January 2000 , the are where the church was located began to change for the better. Taxes collected from gambling allowed the municipality of Hammond to beautify the area. This transformation pushed the community members to decide to remodel the church building. Money was raised and a project was put into action. Unfortunately, this project was brought to an abrupt stop on February 3rd, 2001 with the collapse of the church roof under the accumulation of seasonal snow. The community members belong to the following originate families : Haddad, Mansour, Al Nimri, Batarseh, Bader, Abassy, Hijazeen, Azar, Sheperd, and Sweiss, along with a few other related people by marriage. These families came from all Christian religious denominations including Melkites, Roman Catholics, Protestant Baptist, Reformed Christian, and Antioch an Orthodox Christians. With the church insurance money, St. Michaels was reestablished at 606 141st street in Hammond Indiana from a former Lutheran church. The church was remodeled, repainted, adorned with a new iconostasis, carpeted sanctuary, marbled altar and many other renovations. The church has over come difficulties and finally on November 23rd, 2003 the new church was consecrated and blessed by its original founder then auxiliary Eparch of Newton, Bishop and Master Nicholas Samra. At that current time our pastor was Fr. Saba Shofany for three years. In 2005 Fr. Saba was transferred and Fr. Samir Abu Leil was our pastor for one year. In 2006 Fr. Michel Cheble was assigned as our new pastor until our present time. Since our dedication church attendance has been almost 120 per week and Sunday School is averaging 20 children per week. We apologize for not being able to list the names of all those who served and helped this community to reach this milestone in their spiritual journey. Hundreds and hundreds of pages will be required for such a grand task. However we offer all of them to the Lord in order that He bestows his blessings upon all of them. “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9) |