Syriac Catholic Patriarch Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan on pastoral tour in Canada

MONTREAL, Canada – Syriac Catholic Patriarch Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan visited Montreal, Canada, and met with the current head of the Syriac Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Mor Maron in Montreal, Eparch Paul Marwan Tabet. Both the Syriac Catholic and Syriac Maronite Churches follow the West Syriac Rite.

During their meeting, the two church men reviewed the reality of spiritual and pastoral service and the importance of fraternal work in the spirit of communion and love between the Syriac Maronite and Syriac Catholic Churches, noting that the priest and the servant in the diaspora is also the messenger of truth through love. They also stressed the importance of the role of the family, parents and grandparents in planting the seeds of faith in the souls of children while adhering to heritage and principles, and touched on the subject of the Roman Synod which will be held in October 2023.

During his visit to Canada, Mor Joseph III Younan also met with members of the parish council of the Cathedral of Mor Ephrem the Syriac in Laval, Montreal. During the meeting, the Patriarch gave a speech in which he expressed thanks for the work of all those who dedicate their lives to serving the Church as its true sons, whether in the countries of expatriation or in the home countries of the East. In his speech, he also stressed that membership in the pastoral council is a duty, not a privilege, and expressed appreciation for the efforts and achievements of the parish.

There are several parishes of different Syriac denomination in Montreal: Syriac Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Maronite, and a Syriac Chaldean community.

The Syriac community in Montreal is of the fourth-fifth generation. According to the website of the Church of Mor Ephrem in Sherbrooke (Montreal) – built in 1952 and which belongs to the Syriac Orthodox denomination – the first Syriacs arrived in the nineteenth century with the arrival of the first faithful from Mardin in what is now south east Turkey, and “quite a number of families immigrated after 1920 and joined the other members already at home amongst the Canadian people.”

The Syriac Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Canada is based in Laval, Montreal, and headed by Exarch Antoine Nassif. It has some 5,800 members, five priests, and six parishes in Ontario (Cambridge, Mississauga, and Ottawa) and Quebec (Montreal, Laval).

The Syriac Orthodox and Syriac Maronite archbishoprics in Canada are also located in Montreal. The Syriac Maronites number some forty thousand in the Montreal metropolitan area.