The oldest Malankara Catholic Parish in New York purchases the shut down Yonker’s Church

A church that New York Archdiocese closed down last year was re-opened as a parish church of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church.

The former Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers is now St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church, which for 17 years worshiped in the chapel at Salesian High School in New Rochelle.

Father Sunny Mathew, the pastor of the Malankara congregation, said the opening of the parish was “realization of our almost 32-year dream.”

The migrant Kerala community of Malankara Catholics began as a congregation in 1984 in New York City, but was without a proper parish church.

The parish structure will “increase the self-esteem of our people and it will help them to establish their own identity here,” Father Mathew said.

The priest said he invited the church’s former parishioners as well as representatives from Yonkers’ many Indian Christian denominations and the bishop of the Malankara Catholic Church in the United States.

Most Holy Trinity church was built by Slovak-immigrant congregation in 1909, according the cornerstone at the church. It was closed on July 31 after a merger with St. John the Baptist on Yonkers Avenue under the New York Archdiocese’s “Making All Things New” consolidation program.

Most Holy Trinity was one of eight Catholic churches in Westchester and Rockland counties closed last summer by the archdiocese.

The church’s adoption by an Indian Christian congregation is the latest example of a population shift occurring in Yonkers.

Nearby Indian Orthodox congregations occupy the former St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church on Chestnut Street and a former Methodist church on Park Hill Avenue.

The inaugural Holy Mass in the newly owned church was celebrated at 4.00 pm. on Saturday, May 7, 2016.

The Holy Mass was presided over by His Excellency the Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Mar Eusebius, the Bishop of the Eparchy. His Excellency the Most Rev. Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom of the Eparchy of Pathanamthitta preached during the Holy Eucharist. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Peter Kochery and many of the priests of the Eparchy and a number of priests from the neighboring parishes concelebrated the Holy Mass.

At the conclusion of the Holy Mass, His Excellency Mar Eusebius congratulated the St. Mary’s parish community for this great achievement and thanked the community for the depth of faith and courage witnessed in realizing this project.

The timely leadership given by Rev. Fr. Sunny Mathew, the pastor of the parish was lauded by His Excellency.

His Excellency also expressed gratitude to the Archdiocese of New York and in a special way to His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan for enabling the transfer of this church to the Malankara Church.