Pope Francis on Monday erected the Syro-Malankara Eparchy of St. Mary, Queen of Peace, of the United States and Canada, nominating Bishop Thomas Mar Eusebius Naickamparambil as its first Bishop.
The Eparchy consists of 11,500 faithful, especially in the US states of Illinois, Texas, Michigan, Florida, New York, and Washington, D.C., served by 19 priests in 19 parishes or missions. Three women religious Institutes also operate within the Eparchy’s territory.
This new Ecclesiastical circumscription is created by the elevation of the Apostolic Exarchate for the Syro-Malankara faithful resident in the United States, including the extension of the boundaries to include Canada, where the pastoral care of the faithful has been coordinated most recently by His Excellency, Thomas Mar Eusebios Naickamparambil in his capacity as Apostolic Visitator.
The Eparchy’s seat will be at St. Vincent de Paul Malankara Catholic Cathedral in Elmont, New York.
Eparchies in the Eastern Church are equivalent to Dioceses in the Western Church, and Eparchs are equivalent to Bishops. The title Exarch is used to refer to an Eastern-rite Bishop who is responsible for the pastoral care of a territory where there is no formally established Eparchy, and an Apostolic Visitator is someone who is appointed by the Pope to officially visit with the faithful in a given territory where he himself is not resident.
The Papal Bull to this effect was read by Cleemis Bava in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Pattom.