About Cathedral of St. Joseph [Syrian] · Bayonne, New Jersey
Cathedral of St. Joseph (Syriac) was a predominantly Iraqi-American Syriac Catholic cathedral located in Bayonne, New Jersey, that served as the seat (mother church) of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark from 2011 until July 1, 2022, when Pope Francis approved transferring the episcopal see to St. Toma Syriac Catholic Cathedral in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Established in 2011 in the former St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church on Avenue E, the cathedral later relocated in 2018 to the former St. Michael's parish property on East 23rd Street, where it continues to function as a parish church serving the West Syriac-rite Syriac Catholic faithful of the Bayonne/Newark area. It is one of several Eastern Catholic congregations in Hudson County that minister to Iraqi, Lebanese, and Syrian immigrants and their descendants using the Antiochian (West Syriac) liturgical tradition.
- Established
- 2011
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. Khalid Karomi (pastor in 2011–; not confirmed as current)
- Diocese
- Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in the United States (Syriac Catholic); previously Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark
Why belong here
St. Joseph Cathedral (Syriac) offers a rare opportunity in northern New Jersey to worship in the West Syriac (Antiochian) tradition followed by Syriac Catholics — most of whose families have come from Iraq, Lebanon, or Syria. The parish is a tight-knit community (the original congregation numbered about 150 families drawn from Bayonne and surrounding towns) that celebrates the Divine Liturgy in Aramaic/Syriac, Arabic, and English. Newcomers who appreciate Eastern Catholic spirituality, who are Syriac by heritage, or who simply want to experience the Syriac Divine Liturgy in the New York/New Jersey area, are warmly welcomed.
Identity and Rite
St. Joseph Cathedral (Syriac) belongs to the Syriac Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church of Antiochian tradition in full communion with Rome, and follows the West Syriac (Antiochian) liturgical Rite. It is the parish church of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in the United States, and served as that eparchy's mother church (cathedra, or 'seat') from its establishment in 2011 until July 1, 2022, when Pope Francis transferred the episcopal see to St. Toma in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The community is predominantly Iraqi-American, with most members tracing their immigration to the period after the second Gulf War.
- West Syriac (Antiochian) Rite
- Syriac Catholic Church
- Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in the United States
- Iraqi-American heritage community
History of the Building on Avenue E
The original cathedral building — 317 Avenue E — was constructed for St. Joseph Roman Catholic Parish, which had been founded in 1888 to serve Slovak immigrants in Bayonne. The large brick church was completed in 1909 and served Roman Catholics for more than a century before its final Mass on December 26, 2010. In January 2011 the Archdiocese of Newark leased the building and rectory to the Syriac Catholic Eparchy, and it became St. Joseph Syriac Catholic Cathedral under founding pastor Rev. Khalid Karomi. As the Slovak Roman Catholic congregation had already merged into St. Michael–St. Joseph on East 23rd Street, the transfer to the Syriac community completed a quiet rearrangement of Bayonne's Catholic real estate.
- Slovak Roman Catholic parish founded 1888
- Church completed 1909
- Final Roman Catholic Mass December 26, 2010
- Leased to the Syriac Catholic Eparchy January 2011
- First Syriac pastor: Rev. Khalid Karomi
Relocation and Demolition of the Avenue E Church
By 2018 the Avenue E church had been deconsecrated and the cathedral parish moved to the former St. Michael's property on East 23rd Street, joining the building that had absorbed the original St. Joseph Roman Catholic parishioners. The Avenue E building itself was demolished in 2020 as part of a planned residential redevelopment, but the historic tower bells and the statue of St. Joseph were preserved. In November 2022 the bells were re-dedicated at a new bell tower constructed across the street from Bayonne City Hall, ensuring that a tangible link to the cathedral's first home survives in the city's public space.
- Avenue E building deconsecrated 2018
- Cathedral moves to 21 East 23rd Street (former St. Michael's)
- Avenue E church demolished 2020
- Bells and St. Joseph statue preserved
- New bell tower dedicated November 2022 across from Bayonne City Hall
The Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance
The eparchy was erected by Pope John Paul II on November 6, 1995, and is immediately subject to the Holy See through the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. Its first eparch, Joseph Younan, was elected Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Syriacs in 2009; Pope Benedict XVI then named Bishop Yousif Benham Habash — born in 1951 in Bakhdida, Iraq — as the second eparch on April 12, 2010. Originally responsible for Syriac Catholics in the United States and Canada, the eparchy lost its Canadian territory on January 7, 2016, when a separate Apostolic Exarchate of Canada was erected, and was renamed on June 28, 2021, from 'Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark' to 'Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in the United States.' Bishop Habash explained the 2022 move of the cathedral to Michigan as placing the episcopal see closer to the eparchy's demographic center; the eparchy's chancery mailing address remains 21 East 23rd Street, Bayonne, NJ 07002.
- Erected November 6, 1995
- Bishop Joseph Younan, first eparch (1995–2010)
- Bishop Yousif Benham Habash, second eparch (appointed April 12, 2010)
- Apostolic Exarchate of Canada separated January 7, 2016
- Eparchy renamed June 28, 2021
- Episcopal see transferred to St. Toma, Farmington Hills, Michigan on July 1, 2022
Liturgy and Languages
As a Syriac Catholic parish, St. Joseph Cathedral celebrates the Divine Liturgy according to the West Syriac (Antiochian) Rite — historically distinct from the Latin Rite that had previously been celebrated in the Avenue E building. Liturgical celebrations are conducted in a mix of Syriac (Aramaic), Arabic, and English to serve the parish's Iraqi-American and Levantine congregation. Callers to the parish office at (201) 455-8151 are traditionally directed to the eparchy's website (syriaccatholic.us) for current schedules, especially since detailed service times were paused from public display during the COVID-19 closures.
- West Syriac (Antiochian) Rite
- Syriac (Aramaic) liturgical language
- Arabic used in parts of the liturgy
- English used for selected parts of the liturgy
Clergy and Leadership
The eparchy is led by Bishop Yousif (Barnaba) Benham Habash, the second eparch and a native of Bakhdida, Iraq, who has been assisted in administration by Benedictine Father Luke Edelen (chancellor) and lay staff since he took office in 2010. At the parish level, Rev. Khalid Karomi served as the first pastor when the cathedral was established in January 2011, when he described his congregation as approximately 150 families drawn from Bayonne and surrounding towns. Subsequent pastoral appointments at the cathedral are not publicly enumerated in the sources reviewed.
- Bishop Yousif (Barnaba) Benham Habash — Eparch
- Rev. Khalid Karomi — founding pastor (2011)
- Benedictine Father Luke Edelen — Chancellor of the Eparchy
Visiting and What Remains in Bayonne
Although St. Joseph Cathedral no longer functions as the episcopal seat of the eparchy (a status that transferred to St. Toma in Farmington Hills, Michigan, on July 1, 2022), the parish continues to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in Bayonne and remains the eparchy's administrative mailing address. Visitors interested in the cathedral's earlier history in Bayonne can see the preserved bells and the statue of St. Joseph at the new bell tower across from Bayonne City Hall, dedicated in November 2022 from the demolished 1909 Avenue E church. As of the latest available sources, the parish does not publish a permanent mass schedule online; visitors are encouraged to call the parish office for current service times.
- Parish church still active on East 23rd Street
- Bells and statue at Bayonne City Hall bell tower (dedicated November 2022)
- Original 1909 Avenue E building demolished 2020
- Call (201) 455-8151 for current schedules
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Khalid Karomi2011–
First pastor of the Syriac Catholic cathedral when it was established in the former St. Joseph R.C. Church on Avenue E in January 2011.