West Roxbury, MA- Cathedral of Annunciation

History

Our Lady of the Annunciation Melkite Greek Catholic Cathedral in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, is a modern cathedral inspired by Byzantine architecture. It is the principal church of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton, which encompasses the entire United States, the seat of its hierarch, currently Bishop Nicholas Samra, and the parish church of the Melkite Greek Catholic community in Greater Boston. Its present structure and its status as a cathedral date to 1966; previous to that, Our Lady of the Annunciation Melkite Catholic Church was a parish church in the South End of Boston

Construction of the church in West Roxbury

In 1960, Father Coriaty was transferred to Canada and Archimandrite John Bassoul, BSO, was named as sixth pastor of the church. His term was also brief, lasting only two years, but he is credited with initiating the process of relocating the church. Following up on the earlier discussions that had been had, it was immediately apparent to him that the Melkite faithful were not only no longer concentrated in Boston’s South End neighborhood, but that they had not been for some time.

As early as 1942, when they first occupied the building on Warren Avenue, a program book produced for a parish celebration already reflected significant dispersion of the parishioners among Boston’s neighborhoods and suburbs, particularly those to the south. Almost twenty years later, travel demands, a shortage of parking, neighborhood deterioration, and the need for extensive and expensive repairs, necessitated that an alternative site be identified.

A census of registered parishioners confirmed that substantial numbers of them were living in Boston’s West Roxbury neighborhood. A 4.2-acre (17,000 m2) property on the VFW Parkway in West Roxbury was identified as promising, in its proximity to West Roxbury, easy road access, and suitability of the terrain for building. There were, however, complicating factors involved. The land was owned by the City of Boston and, assuming the city’s willingness to sell a parcel designated as conservation land, its ability to enter into a sale was pre-conditioned on legislative approval under restrictive home-rule provisions applicable to the city under Massachusetts General Law.

Father Bassoul’s negotiations with the city, aided and encouraged by Cardinal Richard Cushing, Archbishop of Boston, who had a history of affording support to the Eastern Catholic communities within his archdiocese, were successful. Legislative approval for the sale was secured and Governor John Volpe signed the bill authorizing the city to set a price and transact the sale. At this point, Father Bassoul’s efforts were halted by an announcement that the Holy Synod of the Melkite Church had elected him to head the Archeparchy of Homs, Hama, and Yabroud in Syria. Before departing for his new position, he was ordained to the episcopate at Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross on April 28, 1962 at a Divine Liturgy presided by Cardinal Cushing, garbed in Byzantine hierarchal vesture.

Father John Elya, BSO (later Bishop), briefly administered the parish until appointment of Father Lucien Malouf, BSO, as its seventh pastor on November 1, 1962. Having twice previously constructed parish churches, Father Malouf was undaunted by the prospect of doing so a third time. Within weeks of taking office, he and his newly appointed assistant, Father Charles Aboody, undertook to ascertain the status of the proposed purchase. In discussions with the Cardinal and chancery officials, it quickly became evident that, after the announcement of Father Bassoul’s election as archbishop, critical momentum had been lost and the city of Boston had failed to act on the final crucial step, setting a purchase price.

With a construction boom then underway in the northeast region, the priests feared that rising costs, already in excess of what had been planned, would become prohibitive if action was not taken quickly to finalize the sale and commence building. With the Cardinal’s encouragement, they renewed negotiation with city officials. Finally, these efforts produced agreement at a price that the parish deemed affordable and Mayor John Collins signed the deed, transferring ownership of the land to the parish.

A building committee was formed and Lawrence J. Cuneo was retained as the principal architect for the design of the church. A groundbreaking ceremony, held on May 31, 1964, was followed by a banquet at which Cardinal Cushing announced a building fund drive. He then immediately pledged $300,000 of personal funds, an amount equal to one-half of the projected building costs, to launch that drive. Four and a half months later, on October 15, 1964, a contract was awarded to Rich Construction Company, to serve as general contractor for the project.

From parish church to cathedral

In January 1966, the Holy See announced the appointment of Father Justin Najmy, pastor of St. Basil the Great Church in Central Falls, Rhode Island, as the first Exarch for Melkites in the United States. He chose the Church of the Annunciation as the cathedral for the new exarchate, and on March 25, 1966, the Feast of the Annunciation, the cathedral celebrated its inaugural Divine Liturgy. The altar was consecrated by Boston Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Riley on April 23, 1966 and the following day the building was solemnly dedicated. Bishop Najmy was enthroned in the new cathedral in June 1966 and delegated Fr. Lucien Malouf, BSO as its rector.

 

Cathedral of Annunciation

Address : 7 VFW Parkway, Boston, MA, United States, Massachusetts

Website : https://www.bostonmelkite.org/

Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/melkitecathedral

Phone :    +1 617-323-6355

Fax :    617-325-2662

E-mail : MelkiteCathedral@gmail.com

Bp Francois Beyrouti

Pastoral Staff