Maronite church at 100

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard and Bishop Gregory John Mansour concelebrated a Divine Liturgy at St. Ann's Maronite Church in Troy on Dec. 4 to mark its 100th anniversary.

St. Ann's is located geographically in the Albany Diocese but ecclesiastically in the Eparchy of St. Maron, headquartered in Brooklyn. Bishop Mansour is the head of that eparchy, the Eastern-rite equivalent of a diocese. There are two Maronite eparchies in the U.S.

Established in 1905 on Havermans Avenue in Troy, the church's first pastor was Rev. Gabriel Korkemaz. In 1912, the parish moved temporarily to Hill Street until a permanent building was constructed on Fourth Street.

In 1959, fire destroyed the church, and parishioners moved to temporary quarters in a store. Bishop William Scully of the Albany Diocese approved construction of a new church adjacent to their former building and on the site of a shrine to St. Ann.

Rev. Elie G. Kairouz, current pastor, is a native of Lebanon. He came to St. Ann's in 2004 as the parish's 11th pastor.

Maronite Catholics, like other Eastern-rite Catholics, are united with the pope. The Maronite Church traces its roots to St. Maron, a fourth-century hermit. There are approximately five million Maronites throughout the world, with nearly one million in Lebanon.

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