(Former) St. Basil Queens Church, History

The Malankara Catholic Community in Queens began in February 1998 with the approval and blessing of the Malankara Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop the Most Rev. Cyril Mar Baselios of happy memory and the Most Rev. Thomas Daily, Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn. On April 10, 1996 upon the request of the Malankara Catholic members from Brooklyn/Queens, Rev. Fr. Geevarghese Mannikarott, the then co-ordinator of the Malankara Catholic Missions of North America requested Bishop Thomas Daily for the establishment of a Malankara Mission in his diocese. On January 18, 1998, Rev. Fr. Saji M. George announced the approval by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Trivandrum to conduct the Malankara liturgy once a month with the facility provided by the Brooklyn Diocese. On February 15, 1998 Chor-Bishop John Kalloor, along with Rev. Fr. Saji M. George and Rev. Fr. Augustine Mangalath celebrated the first Holy Mass in St. Benedict Moore Parish Church, Jamaica, Queens.

The Bishop of Brooklyn Diocese, the Most Rev. Thomas Daily permitted us to continue our liturgical services with a priest already in the United States. Accordingly, on November 8, 1998, the Most Rev. Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom, Bishop of Marthandam (erstwhile Corbishop John Kalloor) announced the decision of the Metropolitan Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios, that the Queens Malankara Community was raised to the status of a mission. Rev. Fr. Augustine Mangalath was appointed its vicar. On January 17, 1999 St. Basil Malankara Catholic Church’s first Holy Mass was celebrated by Rev. Fr. Saji M. George and Rev. Fr. Augustine Mangalath at the Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston, Queens, New York. The mission adopted St. Basil as its heavenly patron. From then on, the regular Sunday Mass and other liturgical services are conducted at the Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston, Queens.

Morning Prayer starts at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday followed by the Holy Mass at 10:00 a.m. Holy Mass is celebrated in English on the fourth Sunday of every month. Sunday School classes are held after the Holy Mass. MCYM, MCA, Fathers Forum, Mothers Forum meetings are held after the Holy Mass in accordance with the consistent schedule. Every month, family prayer meeting is held at one of our families.

Our mission was fortunate to host the first regional family conference on October 2, 1999 at Our Lady of the Snows Church, Floral Park. Bishop of the Brooklyn Diocese, the Most Rev. Thomas Daily along with His Excellency the Most Rev. Geevarghese Mar Timotheos blessed the event. The Re-union Day celebration on September 30, 2001 at the Immaculate Conception Center was hosted by our mission as well. We also hosted the inaugural functions of the silver jubilee celebration of the establishment of the Malankara Catholic Church in North America and the registration kick-off for the seventh Malankara Catholic Convention in Dallas in August 2009. These events were held on July 27, 2008 at Our Lady of Snows Catholic Church, Floral Park. Additionally, on May 29, 2010 our mission hosted a basketball tournament for the Sunday School children from all the Malankara Churches in the tri-state area. This event was a great encouragement for our youngsters and provided an opportunity for them to come together.

Our mission's tenth year anniversary celebration along with St. Basil Day celebration began on December 28, 2008 with hoisting of perunal flag. The Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Mar Thomas, the then Apostolic Visitator, presided over the Holy Mass. Prior to the Holy Mass, as a symbol of the growth of our church in the past 10 years, the Bishop, the vicar, our past secretaries and treasurers lighted the Bhadradeepam with ten candles. Our mission raised and donated a substantial amount ($76,907) for the newly erected Malankara center at New Hyde Park and also for the Pastoral Center-Seminary ( $42,415). Additionally, our parish loaned a sum of $40,000 to the Malankara Center to pay off the mortgage for the new building.

The release of the monthly news bulletin and the coverage of our parish news in various Malayalam newspapers and web news media are taken care of by the publication committee. The updated information about our parish, including monthly bulletin, announcements and events are always available at the parish website at www.stbasilqueens.org. The commendable job of the publication committee is well appreciated. A Malayalam language class was started in our church on July 11, 2010 under the leadership of Rev. Fr. Antony Padipurackal to preserve our heritage among the youths in our parish. In terms of social gathering, our annual picnic and sports are held in the month of July every year at the nearby parks. To congratulate and appreciate all the new graduates in our parish, a Graduate Recognition Day is celebrated every year when plaques are presented to the graduates as a token of appreciation. As the commemoration of late Bishop Jacob Mar Theophilos is assigned to our parish, a commemoration ceremony is hosted by our parish in the month of June every year. With immense gratitude and devotion, we celebrate the feast day of our heavenly patron St. Basil as St. Basil Day in the month of January every year.

The active participation of our parishioners in the 2000 Malankara Convention at Philadelphia, 2003 Malankara convention at Long Island, 2006 Malankara Convention at New Jersey, 2009 Malankara Convention at Dallas and in the inauguration ceremony of the Exarchate and installation of the new Exarch is greatly appreciated. A sum of $6200 was collected from the parishioners and was given to the Malankara Center as a contribution to the expense of Exarchate inauguration function.

We are so grateful to God Almighty for His providence and protection of our Malankara Catholic Mission of Queens. Our mission flourished from 30 to 60 families within the past 10 - 12 years. We remember with great gratitude, Major Archbishop Cyril Baselios Catholicos of happy memory, the Most Rev. Thomas Daily, the Most Rev. Geevarghese Mar Timotheos, the Most Rev. Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom, all other bishops, Corbishop Right Rev. Geevarghese Mannikarott, Rev. Fr. Saji M. George, Rev. Fr. Augustine Mangalath, and all lay leaders who tirelessly worked for the realization of our parish.

We thank the father and head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, His Beatitude Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, the Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Mar Thomas and the Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Mar Eusebius, bishop of Syro- Malankara Catholic Exarchate in the United States for their love and guidance. We would like to thank Rev. Fr. Augustine Mangalath, Rev. Fr. Joseph Nedumankuzhiyil, Rev. Fr. Louis Puthenveetil, Rev. Fr. Shaji Manikulam, Rev. Fr. Antony Padipurackal, and Rev. Fr. Sunny Mathew Kavuvila for their dedicated service as the vicars / priests-in-charge of our mission. Currently, Rev. Fr. Sathyan Antony OIC offers us his service as our vicar. We gratefully remember Rev. Sr. Arpitha SIC, Rev. Sr. Mariam SIC, and Rev. Sr. Ivan SIC for their dedicated service to our parish in the past years. We extend our sincere thanks to the Brooklyn Diocese and the staff of Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston for their continuous care and support.