About Virgin Mary [Melkite] Catholic · Temecula, California
Virgin Mary Melkite Catholic Mission (also styled Virgin Mary Arabic Church, Melkite Catholic) is an Eastern Catholic mission parish serving the Melkite Greek Catholic faithful of Temecula, California, in the southwestern Riverside County area. Founded in 1991 under Bishop John Elya of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton, it is the only Melkite mission in the Temecula Valley and worships according to the Byzantine (Greek) rite in Arabic and English. After years of moving between borrowed spaces, a mobile trailer and rented facilities, the community settled into its present home at 42030 Avenida Alvarado in December 2014. The mission is pastored by Fr. Paul Al Khouri Fallouh, a native of Syria, and is supported by the Melkite Council and linked to the broader network of Melkite parishes in the West that trace their lineage back to the 1909 founding of St. Anne Melkite in North Hollywood.
- Established
- 1991
- Patron
- The Virgin Mary (Theotokos)
- Rector
- Fr. Paul Al Khouri Fallouh
- Diocese
- Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton
Why belong here
Virgin Mary Melkite is a small, close-knit Eastern Catholic community that brings the Byzantine (Greek) liturgical tradition into the heart of the Temecula Valley — Divine Liturgy in Arabic and English, faithful that have stuck together through more than three decades of relocations, and a pastor, Fr. Paul Al Khouri Fallouh, who is building the community into a vibrant parish. It is a particularly welcoming home for Melkite families and Arabic-speaking Christians in southwestern Riverside County, while remaining in full communion with Rome and the wider Catholic Church through the Eparchy of Newton.
Mass times at Virgin Mary [Melkite] Catholic
Weekly Mass schedule
History of the Mission
Virgin Mary Melkite Catholic Mission was formed in 1991 under the direction of His Grace Bishop John Elya of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton, to serve Melkite families in the Temecula Valley who otherwise had to travel to North Hollywood or San Diego for Byzantine-rite worship. The mission's first home was a borrowed classroom at St. Catherine of Alexandria Roman Catholic Church on C Street in Temecula, and Fr. George Bisharat, then associate pastor of St. Anne in North Hollywood, came down to celebrate the Sunday Divine Liturgy. The community grew to roughly fifty families and went through a series of relocations in the early and mid-1990s — to a mobile trailer on the Hillside School campus in 1992, then to the west side of I-15 near Old Town Temecula in 1993, and finally to St. Mark Roman Catholic Mission in rural San Marcos in 1996. After nearly two decades in San Marcos, the community returned to Temecula in December 2014 and settled into its present home at 42030 Avenida Alvarado.
- Founded 1991 under Bishop John Elya
- First liturgical space: classroom at St. Catherine of Alexandria, Temecula
- Relocations: Hillside School mobile trailer (1992) → near Old Town Temecula off Jefferson St (1993) → St. Mark Mission, San Marcos (1996) → 42030 Avenida Alvarado, Temecula (December 2014)
Community Life and Ministries
From the earliest Old Town Temecula days the mission built its life around a tightly organized laity. A parish council of 12–15 men and women steered practical affairs; a Ladies Society sewed altar-server vestments and other adornments; a parish carpenter built the altar table; and a Youth and Young Adult group of 25–30 teens met under Deacon Gabriel Ghanoum, who also oversaw religious education. These lay ministries remained the backbone of the community through the San Marcos years and continued to define parish life after the 2014 move back to Temecula. Fr. Paul Al Khouri Fallouh has continued to build on this lay foundation, helping the mission grow as a vibrant Melkite parish.
- Ladies Society — vestments and adornments
- Parish Council — 12–15 members
- Youth and Young Adult groups — 25–30 teens
- Religious Education programs
- Liturgical arts (carpentry, sewing)
Liturgy and Schedule
The mission celebrates the Byzantine (Greek) Divine Liturgy on Sundays, with the parish website listing 12:00 pm and the Melkite eparchy's parish locator listing 10:00 a.m. — visitors are encouraged to confirm current times. Liturgy is offered in Arabic and English, reflecting the parish's identity as the 'Virgin Mary Arabic Church, Melkite Catholic.' Confession is available on request, and the parish is reached by phone or email for special services, feast-day liturgies, and sacramental needs.
- Sunday Divine Liturgy — see parish website or melkite.org parish locator for current time
- Liturgical language: Arabic and English
- Confession by arrangement
Property Search and Relocations
A defining theme of the mission's history has been its search for a permanent home. As early as the mid-1990s the community had saved enough money to purchase property and looked seriously at sites in Wildomar, in the Hemet area (now served by St. Teresa of Calcutta), and off Interstate 15 in Murrieta, but none won eparchial support. While the search dragged on, the mission bought a small piece of property with a mobile home in Wildomar to house its pastor Fr. Nassir Matta and his family. After Fr. Nassir's retirement and a difficult interim in San Marcos, the 2014 move to Avenida Alvarado marked the first stable Temecula address the community had enjoyed in nearly two decades.
- Property search in Wildomar, Hemet, and Murrieta (mid-1990s)
- Wildomar mobile-home purchase to house pastor
- December 2014 return to Temecula at 42030 Avenida Alvarado
Belonging to the Eparchy of Newton
Virgin Mary Melkite Catholic Mission is part of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton, which has jurisdiction over all Melkite faithful across the United States and currently lists roughly fifty parishes, missions and outreaches in about two dozen states. The eparchy's mother church in New England is the Annunciation Cathedral in West Roxbury, Massachusetts; its co-cathedral is St. Anne in North Hollywood, the spiritual mother of the Temecula mission. As one of nine California Melkite missions/parishes, Virgin Mary Temecula worships in full communion with Rome while preserving the Byzantine liturgical, spiritual and disciplinary heritage of the Melkite tradition.
- Part of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton
- Spiritual daughter of St. Anne Co-Cathedral, North Hollywood
- One of nine California Melkite parishes/missions in the eparchy
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Bishop John Elya (founder/oversight)1991 (founding)
Eparchial bishop who established the mission; called Fr. George Bisharat to assist.
- Fr. George Bisharat1991–early 1990s
Associate pastor of St. Anne, North Hollywood; assigned to assist with Sunday Divine Liturgy.
- Fr. Charles Aboody1992 (assisting)
Assisted the mission while at the Hillside School mobile trailer.
- Fr. James Atkins1992 (temporary)
Temporary priest who came from Ohio.
- Fr. George El Murr1993–mid 1990s
Priest from Jordan, jointly assigned with St. Jacob, San Diego; later elected Bishop of Jordan.
- Archimandrite Charles Aboodymid 1990s (interim)
Retired priest living locally; served after Fr. El Murr's departure.
- Archimandrite Max Chalhoubmid 1990s (permanent)
Came out of retirement; led the property search in Wildomar, Hemet, and Murrieta.
- Fr. Nassir Mattaapprox. mid 1990s–approx. 2013
From Mieh Mieh, Lebanon; served approximately 18 years; mission purchased a Wildomar mobile-home property to house him.
- Fr. Saba Shofanyinterim after Fr. Nassir
From St. Jacob, San Diego; later reassigned to Utica, NY.
- Archimandrite James Babcockinterim
Also pastored St. Jacob, San Diego; called upon Fr. Steven Gross to assist.
- Fr. Steven Gross, OFMinterim assisting
Franciscan friar who assisted during the interim period.
- Fr. Paul Al Khouri Fallouh2014–present
Newly ordained native of Syria; assigned upon the 2014 return to Temecula; current pastor.