Blending East and West

By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic

Photography: TOM TRACY | FC

See related story: From Asia to South Florida 

FORT LAUDERDALE | Joyson Mathew rode on a bus with 50 friends from the Tampa area, just to see a new church consecrated. As an Asian Indian Catholic, he found it well worth the trip.

The brand new St. Jude Knanaya Parish, after all, was about to be consecrated by two Indian bishops as well as Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski.

"Getting your own church is a once-in-a-lifetime event," said Mathew, toting a tall, conga-like chenda drum as the procession lined up for the consecration May 31.  "We wanted to support them and to be part of their joy."

Many others clearly agreed, converging on the largely Haitian neighborhood from points in Miami, Weston and West Palm Beach. The former Divine Mercy Mission was about to become part of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, a group based in India but in communion with the Vatican.

The 450-500 worshipers included visitors from Our Lady of Health in Coral Springs, the only other Syro-Malabar church in South Florida. They also included Haitians from St. Clement in Wilton Manors, into which Divine Mercy had merged. Still others came from Syro-Malabar congregations in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Houston.

The rich heritage of Kerala, southwestern India, showed up in the brilliant colors and distinctive dress as people filed into the church. Many women wore graceful saris or the billowing dresses known aschuridars. Some men wore the shirt-and-skirt outfits called the mundu and giba. Clothes showed a rainbow of colors like gold, orange, fuchsia and electric blue.

Greeting them was a constellation of church leaders, including Archbishop Mathew Moolakatt of Kottayam, Kerala; Bishop Jacob Angadiath of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago; and Archbishop Wenski of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.

Also there was Father Joseph Mathew Adoppillil, director of the mission since October � who was about to be named pastor of the new St. Jude parish.

The move marked a coming of age for the Indian community, Archbishop Wenski said in his homily.

"They say you're never really grown up when you're living in someone else's house, only when you're in your own home," he said. "You have done very good work."

The 88 families had been worshiping at St. Jerome in Fort Lauderdale for five years. Before then, they had worshiped at Nativity Church in Hollywood. Now, they could stop migrating.

"It feels so great," said youth coordinator Kristi Njaravelil of Pembroke Pines, joining a procession of sari-clad women holding plates of rose petals. "Finding a church has taken awhile. But with a lot of work and dedication, we've finally fulfilled our dream."

Most of the rituals were done in the bubbling Malayalam language of Kerala, where Christians trace their history to apostolic times. Bishop Angadiath blessed the oil of anointing, then dipped a finger in it and made the sign of the cross on the rear sanctuary wall. He then anointed the side walls, as well as a flower-decked statuette of St. Jude.

He also rubbed oil into the surface of the marble altar, then wiped off the excess. Three Adoration Sisters from Our Lady of Health in Coral Springs dressed the altar.

As Bishop Angadiath and Archbishop Moolakatt lighted the nilavilakku, the distinctive standing brass lamp of Indian churches, the congregation burst into applause. They sang a hymn in Malayalam, punctuated with "Hallelujah."

"It is my joy and privilege to declare this mission as a full-fledged parish, and Father Adoppillil as its first vicar," he proclaimed, to more applause. Father Adoppillil gave a bright smile, pressing his hands together in a gesture of acceptance.

The newborn parish then celebrated its first Holy Qurbana, as Indians call the Mass. Led by chenda, synthesizer and choir, they prayed with palms upturned and sang hymns.  As they lined up to take Communion, some of the women spread scarves over their heads.

Speaking in his own former church � he served Divine Mercy and other Haitian missions in the 1980s � Archbishop Wenski reminded his listeners that just as the structure was anointed for holy service, they too were anointed to serve God.

"This building itself reminds us to make room for God in our hearts and lives," he said. "As baptized Christians, we too have been set apart, as these walls have been blessed ... We must bring God's love into a suffering world."

A 15-minute video offered the history of the church, starting as a mission in 2007. Viewers clapped once more as the overhead screen flashed a three-fold slogan: "ONE BLOOD, ONE HERITAGE, ONE FAMILY."

The unity slogan resonated even with younger members who know India as more of a distant land.

"We all come from the same ancestry � it's kind of like having a second India in Florida," said Benjamin Chilampath, 17, of Weston, who was born in the United States.

Siju George, an adult member from Pembroke Pines, called the new church-home "a phase of growth. The next generation will have a place that belongs to them."

The day's festivities finished with a buffet on the brick-paved patio: the spicy chicken-and-rice dish known as biryani.

Among those present was Msgr. James Fetscher, who has hosted St. Jude's mission directors for years at St. Sebastian Church in Fort Lauderdale. He said Father Jose would continue living there until his rectory at St. Jude is finished.

"There’s always excitement in being able to do something that expresses the growth of your community," Msgr. Fetscher wrote on the St. Sebastian website. "It’s good to see the use of the property remaining sacred."

Father Jose, as he likes to be called, came to St. Jude in October from Kerala, where he taught at Mar Ivanios College. On April 30, the congregation bought the Divine Mercy building for $840,000, with a 30 percent down payment.

But the property, which had been closed since 2009, required considerable work. The members replaced the floor of the sanctuary, which had warped and allowed the altar to fall. They bought a new marble altar from India and replaced the tiled floor in the social hall. They weeded the garden, planted flowers and repainted the walls.

They kept the Divine Mercy name for a grotto with a Marian statue, in honor of the church's heritage and the providence that brought them there.

"Divine Mercy came to us by divine mercy, and through Archbishop Wenski," Father Adoppilli said. "We are a small group, but we are united and hardworking."

With the congregation moved in, he pronounced himself "happy and excited. In our own home, we can do many things. We can provide good pastoral care for the people. We can do social work for the Haitian people."

The work may have already started: He said a few Haitian neighbors attended rosary the week after St. Jude was consecrated. "Even if they don’t understand the language, they're happy that it's Catholic and an active church."