Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches in Chicago Keep Own Liturgies and Languages While Sharing One Faith

The Archdiocese of Chicago is home to several Eastern Rite churches that are in communion with the Holy See while worshiping in their own liturgies and languages. Chicago Catholic describes these churches as part of the wider tapestry of the universal Church.

According to the report, several churches in communion with Rome developed as the apostles and other Christians carried the faith into Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. Some, such as the Byzantine Catholic Church, have further developed a number of rites shaped by language and culture. The report says these traditions share the same dogma and doctrine.

Richard McCarron, a professor of liturgy at Catholic Theological Union whose doctoral work focused on Eastern Christian liturgies and spiritualities, said that Pope John Paul II often described the Church as breathing with two lungs. “We need both the East and the West to express the fullness of faith,” McCarron said. “We’re not quite whole unless we’re breathing together and our hearts are beating together.”

The report notes that St. John Paul II urged Latin-rite Catholics, in his 1996 apostolic letter *Orientale Lumen*, to become familiar with the traditions of the Eastern Churches so that they could be nourished by them and encourage unity.

Several communities appear in the report’s account of local life. On Dec. 3, 2023, the Arab American Catholic Community of Chicago welcomed Father Wissam Mansour of Jordan to a Mass at Our Lady of the Ridge Church in Chicago Ridge. Mansour will serve the community for five years as a ministry of Our Lady of the Ridge and St. Linus Parish. Cardinal Cupich greeted the community at the end of the Mass and said he welcomed its presence in the Archdiocese of Chicago. On May 2, 2026, Local Catholic Eritreans gathered at St. Thomas of Canterbury Church to celebrate the Mariam Dearit holiday, with a Mass celebrated in the Ge’ez language followed by a reception with ethnic food. The report says Mary, Mother of God Parish is the only church in the Chicago area that hosts monthly Masses for this community.

The Syro-Malabar Church, which the report describes as the second largest of the Eastern Catholic Churches, is also present in the archdiocese. According to the report, Pope John Paul II established the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago on March 13, 2001. Bishop Joy Alappat, then a priest, is pictured presiding at a Saturday morning Mass at Mar Thomas Sleeha Cathedral in Bellwood, Illinois.

On Feb. 27, 2022, Cardinal Cupich joined Bishop Benedict Aleksiychuk of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Chicago for a Divine Liturgy for Peace in Ukraine at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral. The report says prayers in English and Ukrainian were offered to end the war in Ukraine and to achieve a lasting peace, a moment that reflects the call to seek peace with others (Romans 12:18).

The report lists Eastern-rite parishes within the archdiocese’s boundaries, including the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, several Ukrainian Catholic parishes, Chaldean Catholic churches in Chicago and Northbrook, and St. Mary’s Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in Evanston.

Father Rodney Abasso, parochial vicar of Mart Mariam Chaldean Catholic Church in Northbrook, told the report that it stands to reason that forms of worship reflect the cultures in which they have grown. He said Catholics share the same faith and morals while approaching God in different ways. Abasso said his church’s doors are open to anyone who wants to deepen their relationship with God, and that Latin-rite Catholics are welcome to join parishioners at Masses celebrated in Arabic, English and Surath, or Chaldean.

Source: Read the original report