HISTORY

Timeline – History
St. Joseph Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Montreal

Before 2009 – Catholics from Kerala in Montreal gathered occasionally for Masses, as per the availability of visiting Priests from other cities in Canada, and student Priests residing in the Montreal area. Different Churches, Chapels, Halls, or Houses were used for these gatherings as per the convenience of people and Priests. Mr. George Kattakkal took initiative to arrange materials for the Masses and find locations as well.  

 

2009 to 2015 – All Catholics, belonging to different rites, from Kerala in Montreal started regular gatherings in the Community Chapel of Saint Joseph’s Oratory under the leadership of Fr. Jomon Kalladanthiyil, CSC, a Priest from the Congregation of Holy Cross. At the request of people, regular monthly Mass started with around 40 people. The Mass was on the 2nd Sunday of every month at 4 PM. Mr. Mathew Pathiyil, Mr. Jimjees Abraham, Mr. Benny Augustine, Mrs. Tessy Benny, Mr. Jijo George, and Leena Jijo, Mrs. Tessy Thoppil took initiative to organize materials for the Masses. Fr. Jomon appointed Mrs. Tessy Thoppil as the in-charge of Communications to let people know about the different activities of the community. Neetha Mathew, Lisy George, Jilson Thomas, Albin Kuriakose were the choir members who regularly came for the Qurbana. After the Mass, the faithful people gathered for snacks and coffee in the Oratory Cafeteria. Good family spirit was maintained, and people got spiritual and material nourishment from such gatherings. 

 

2015 – The Apostolic Exarchate for the Syro-Malabar faithful in Canada was formally erected by Pope Francis on August 6, 2015, the Transfiguration of the Lord, through the Apostolic Constitution Spiritualem ubertatem with it’s see in Mississauga. Very Rev. Jose Kalluvelil was appointed the first Apostolic Exarch and the titular Bishop of Tabalta. The inauguration of the Exarchate and the Episcopal Ordination of Very Rev. Jose Kalluvelil took place on September 19, 2015, in Mississauga, Ontario. A few faithful Syro-Malabar Catholics from Montreal participated in the Episcopal Ordination in Ontario. 

 

2015 – As part of discovering various Syro-Malabar communities in different parts of Canada, Bishop Jose Kalluvelil reached out to the Montreal community too through Fr. Jomon Kalladanthiyil, CSC who was already catering to the needs of the community members in different pastoral needs. Bishop Kalluvelil appointed Fr. Jomon Kalladanthiyil as the Pastor of the Syro-Malabar community in Montreal and requested that the community be named after St. Joseph as the community members used to gather regularly in St. Joseph’s Oratory. Now, it’s officially St. Joseph Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Montreal.  

 

2016 – At the request of Mar Jose Kalluvelil, catechism classes were initiated for the children in the community. Fr. Jomon appointed Mr. Benny Augustine as the first catechism principal. There were 14 students at the beginning and the classes were held at St. Joseph’s Oratory Hall. 

 

2017 – With new immigrations, many more Kerala Catholics came to Montreal. The Community Chapel at the Oratory was not enough for regular monthly Mass. Therefore, the Qurbana was shifted to Saint André Bessette Chapel, a side Chapel in the Basilica of the Oratory that can contain around 300 people. By now, around 200 people joined for regular monthly Qurbana. 

 

The number of Catechism students increased from 14 students to 41 within one year! At this time, the classes were held at Holy Cross House (Centre Le Pelèrin), a house that is found at the feet of the Oratory. 

 

As the number of people were constantly increasing for the regular monthly Mass and Catechism class, Fr. Jomon started looking for a suitable place for all people to gather on a more regular basis. With the permission of Mar Jose Kalluvelil, he contacted the Archbishop Christian Lépine of the Montreal Archdiocese. Fr. Jomon received a response from the archbishop’s house, and he was invited to meet with Mgr Blanchard, the then Vicar Episcopal for Cultural Communities. During their meeting, Fr. Jomon expressed the need to have a Church for the Kerala community to gather for regular liturgical celebrations and he requested if the community could use the nearby French Parish –Notre Dame des Neiges Parish on Côte-des-Neiges Road (5366, de la Côte-des-Neiges Rd.), Montréal, QC, H3T 1Y2. Mgr Blanchard, the old Pastor of this same Parish for the French community, was very happy about this request and spoke with Archbishop Lépine and agreed to use this Church for regular Masses and Catechism classes without disrupting the regular programs of the already existing French Parish. He invited Fr. Jomon to talk with Fr. Alfredo, the Pastor of the French Parish and made further arrangements.

 

After meetings and discussions with the Parish authority, Fr. Jomon Kalladanthiyil, CSC signed the first contract between the Archdiocese of Montreal and St. Joseph Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. From January 2018, we were allowed to use the Church and Parish Hall as per our need.

 

2018 – From January 2018, we started having two Masses per month and 2 sessions of Catechism classes (first and third Sundays of the month). By now, the number of faithful people has increased to 500 people. The Masses were shifted from St. Joseph’s Oratory to Notre Dame des Neiges Parish. As there were many needs for the people, Fr. Jomon appointed two kaikkarans / trustees – Mr. Francy Tarakan and Mr. Saji Kunnel. He also appointed a treasurer – Mr. Jimjees Abraham. Mr. Nijin Sebastian helped out as Sacristan and Mr. Yogi Joseph and the team formed a good choir for the Parish. We launched a new website for the Parish in June with the hard work of Mr. Joshy Joseph and Fr. Jomon. The website was named as KCC Montreal, Kerala Catholic Community in Montreal. All Catholics from Kerala in Montreal belonging to different rites were coming together to pray. From time to time, all the Kerala Priests who lived and continue to live in Montreal helped to celebrate Masses. We fondly remember Frs. Janil, Joy, Louiz, Sunny, Deepak, Josey, Manual, Tijo, Binu, Jaison, George, Regi and Sibychan.     

 

2018 – In September 2018, after thanking Fr. Jomon for all his selfless services, Bishop Jose Kalluvelil appointed a new Pastor for St. Joseph Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Montreal. Fr. Boby Muttathuvlayil took the leadership from Fr. Jomon Kalladanthiyil, CSC. Fr. Boby was the Pastor for two Parishes at the same time as Montreal and Ottawa Parishes were linked together. The Exarchate was erected into the status of Eparchy by Pope Francis on 22nd December 2018. With the growing immigrant population, the Eparchy grew as well.   

 

2019 – 2020 – 2021

 

Fr. Jomon Kalladanthiyil, CSC
August 20, 2021