About Our Mother of Perpetual Help [Syriac] · El Cajon, California
Our Mother of Perpetual Help is a Syriac Catholic parish serving the faithful of El Cajon, California, and the wider eastern San Diego County area. It belongs to the Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance (based in Newark, New Jersey), and its 400–450 families are overwhelmingly Iraqi Christian refugees and immigrants who worship in the West Syriac tradition. Celebrated in Syriac-Aramaic, Arabic, and some English, the liturgy preserves the ancient Aramaic prayer of the Syriac Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with Rome since 1781. The parish is currently pastored by Rev. Msgr. Emad Hanna Al-Shaikh and is best known as a spiritual home for a diaspora community that escaped persecution in Iraq and now rebuilds its Christian life in southern California.
- Established
- 1994
- Patron
- Our Mother of Perpetual Help (the Blessed Virgin Mary under this title)
- Rector
- Rev. Msgr. Emad Hanna Al-Shaikh
- Diocese
- Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in the United States (with see in Newark, NJ); located geographically within the territory of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
Why belong here
Our Mother of Perpetual Help offers a rare opportunity in California to worship in the ancient West Syriac tradition, with the Aramaic liturgy that connects the community to the language of Jesus and the Apostles, alongside Arabic and English for the wider family. For Christians from Iraq and the broader Syriac diaspora, it is a spiritual home where trauma is carried together, prayer is shared across generations, and a women's prayer group, youth ministry, and outreach to refugees sustain a tight-knit family of 400–450 households. Visitors are warmly welcomed to experience Communion distributed by intinction in the traditional Syriac way and to pray for the persecuted Church in the Middle East.
Mass times at Our Mother of Perpetual Help [Syriac]
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity & Eastern Catholic Heritage
Our Mother of Perpetual Help is a parish of the Syriac Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome since 1781. The Syriac Catholic Church is the smallest of the Eastern Catholic Churches, with about 200,000 members worldwide; its principal liturgical language is Syriac-Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus, the Blessed Mother, and the Apostles. The local vernacular — Arabic in the Middle East, English in the United States — is incorporated into the liturgy alongside Aramaic.
Founding & Early Mission Years (1994–1995)
The community was established in 1994 by a young Syriac priest, Father Joseph Younan, who traveled from the East Coast to San Diego once or twice a month to celebrate Mass for the local Syriac faithful. During these formative years, the current pastor — Msgr. Emad Hanna Al-Shaikh — was still completing his priestly formation.
- 1994 — Mission established by Fr. Joseph Younan
- Before 2011 — community worshiped at Santa Sophia Church in Spring Valley
- Early liturgy celebrated in Syriac-Aramaic, Arabic, and some English
Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance & the Patriarch's Visit
On November 6, 1995, Pope John Paul II erected the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in the United States, with Father Younan as its first bishop. He was consecrated in January 1996 and in 2009 was elected Patriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syriacs (taking the name Ignatius Youssef III Younan). In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop Yousif Benham Habash — later Bishop Barnaba Yousif Habash — as second eparch. Patriarch Younan returned to celebrate Mass at the parish on July 16 (his first visit since 2019), with the eparch accompanying him on a wider pastoral visit that included California, Arizona, New Jersey, and Florida.
- 1995 — Eparchy erected by St. John Paul II
- 1996 — Fr. Younan consecrated first bishop of Newark
- 2009 — Bishop Younan elected Syriac Catholic Patriarch
- 2010 — Bishop Yousif Benham Habash named second eparch
Permanent Home on South Mollison Avenue (2011–Present)
In 2011 the parish purchased its current property at 1101 South Mollison Avenue in El Cajon, leaving behind its borrowed home at Santa Sophia Church in Spring Valley. Today the parish numbers between 400 and 450 families and remains one of the most active Syriac Catholic communities on the West Coast.
- 2011 — Parish property acquired at 1101 S. Mollison Ave., El Cajon
- Approximately 400–450 registered families
Clergy & Pastoral Leadership
The parish is shepherded by Rev. Msgr. Emad Hanna Al-Shaikh, a Syriac Catholic priest who was baptized in 1955 at a Syriac church in Mosul — the same church that has since been destroyed in the persecution of Christians in Iraq. During the years when Fr. Joseph Younan was commuting in from the East Coast to celebrate Mass, Msgr. Al-Shaikh was still in priestly formation, and he eventually took over as the parish's resident pastor.
- Rev. Msgr. Emad Hanna Al-Shaikh — Pastor (current)
Languages of the Liturgy
Following the Syriac Catholic custom, the local vernacular is incorporated into the liturgy alongside the sacred Aramaic prayer of the Church. In El Cajon, the principal languages are Syriac-Aramaic and Arabic, with some English used as well — reflecting the predominantly Iraqi-Arabic-speaking background of the community.
- Syriac-Aramaic
- Arabic
- English (partial)
Communion by Intinction
In keeping with the traditional practice of the Syriac Catholic Church, Holy Communion is distributed by intinction: the priest dips the host into the Precious Blood and then places it on the tongue of the communicant.
Parish Ministries & Community Life
Although the parish is small, its ministries are rooted in shared prayer and mutual support — particularly important for a community whose members largely fled Iraq as refugees. A women's prayer group gathers on weekdays for prayer, coffee, and conversation; a youth group provides formation and fellowship for younger parishioners; and outreach to newly arrived refugees and immigrants is a defining part of parish life.
- Women's prayer group
- Youth group / youth ministry
- Outreach to Iraqi Christian refugees and immigrants
- Syriac-Aramaic liturgical formation
Memorial to the Baghdad Martyrs
In the foyer of the parish church sits a small piece of granite from the Syriac Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad, which was attacked by militants on October 31, 2010, killing 47 worshippers. Beside the granite are photographs of those killed — a constant reminder of the community's homeland, the persecution endured by Syriac Christians, and the martyrs who share the parish's prayer.
- Granite fragment from Our Lady of Salvation Church, Baghdad
- Photographs of the 47 martyrs of the October 31, 2010 attack
Visit & Contact
Our Mother of Perpetual Help welcomes visitors and newcomers to its Syriac Catholic liturgy in El Cajon. The parish office can be reached by phone, and updates are shared through the parish's Facebook page and group.
- Office phone: (619) 440-5555
- Parish Facebook page: Our Mother of Perpetual Help Syriac Catholic Church
- Parish Facebook group: SyriacCatholicChurchSD
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Msgr. Emad Hanna Al-Shaikh1990s–present
Current pastor; baptized in 1955 at a Syriac Catholic church in Mosul that was later destroyed. Was still in priestly formation while Fr. Joseph Younan was visiting the community monthly to celebrate Mass.
- Fr. (later Bishop, later Patriarch) Joseph Younan — Ignatius Youssef III Younan1994–1995 (founder/mission priest)
Established the community as a mission in 1994 while visiting from the East Coast; appointed first bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in 1995/1996; elected Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch in 2009.