Mar Francis Kalabat installed for Southfield-based eparchy, asks prayers for persecuted Iraqis

Southfield — Fr. Frank Y. Kalabat, a local priest of the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, was consecrated the second bishop of the Southfield-based diocese the morning of June 14.

The love of the people for their new bishop was evident in the crowds filling Our Lady of Chaldeans Cathedral, two of its meeting rooms and an outdoor tent with streamed video throughout the rite of episcopal ordination.

“It is so hard to put into words because Bishop Kalabat is one of the first priests of the younger generation (of American Chaldeans) to be ordained,” Jerry Yono told The Michigan Catholic following the liturgy.

Yono, who attends the cathedral, also referred to Mother of God Chaldean Catholic Church, said Bishop Kalabat is now “leading us into a new part of the Chaldean Church. It was like the ushering-in of a new era.”



“We love him and we’re praying for him,” said Yono, who resides in Novi.

Oxford resident Ramzia Shauni described the ordination liturgy as “heaven on earth.”

“We are proud and honored Chaldeans,” said Shauni, who also attends Mother of God Church. “He’s so humble, he’s a very good priest.”

In his homily following his installation as eparch (a title used for bishops in Eastern-rite churches), Bishop Kalabat said the celebration wasn’t about him: “It is first and foremost to remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and what he has done for us and how he continues to shine through all of us and make his presence known with us.”

Bishop Kalabat said just as he lay prostrate on the ground during the rite of ordination, with the Bible placed on his back, he is now called to carry the people of God, with their joys and pains.

“The great St. Ignatius of Antioch would proclaim in the end of the first, early second century, ‘where you see the bishop, you see the fullness of Christ,’” said Bishop Kalabat. “Not because I’m worthy of it, but Christ wants it done this way.”

 



Eyes toward Iraq

The bishop mentioned the most recent bombings and violence in Iraq, such as the fall of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, to Islamist militants, resulting in additional suffering for the local Christians already plagued by persecution.

“Many times we begin with the question, ‘why?’” he said. “Especially in the few days we’ve been asking the question, ‘Why? How can this happen?’ How does this happen in our country again; just when we thought it couldn’t get worse, it did.”

He said that this can cause people to question, “Where are you, Lord?”

“And sometimes, in faith, we need to turn to the cross and say ‘Do something!’ (But) he did,” said Bishop Kalabat, who was wearing the belt of a martyred bishop of Mosul in remembrance. “He does. He continues to do. This was accomplished in Jesus Christ when he took on the crown of thorns.”

Bishop Kalabat explained that in a way, “he is saying, ‘Father, Mosul needs you. Father, Baghdad needs you. Father, Syria needs you. Father, Egypt needs you. Father, Africa needs you. Father, the world needs you. And I carry them on me and I present it to you.’”

“Now I carry you in my heart whenever I celebrate Mass,” Bishop Kalabat said. “The Church suffers. We suffer. We suffer with Christ, keeping our focus in Christ, coming to see the face of Christ in the Eucharist, in adoration, in confession. We have already overcome because Jesus said it is finished, it is done, but we must live it patiently before we can experience the fullness of this victory.”

 

A growing
Chaldean flock

Bishop Kalabat’s ordination made him only the second bishop for the relatively young eparchy, which was founded in 1982 with Bishop now-emeritus Ibrahim N. Ibrahim.

“The diocese has grown a lot,” Bishop Ibrahim told The Michigan Catholic several weeks prior to the ordination of Bishop Kalabat.

Bishop Ibrahim’s resignation was accepted by Pope Francis and announced May 3, the same day the appointment of Bishop Kalabat was announced.

“He was the second seminarian that was during my tenure,” said Bishop Ibrahim, 76, who also served as a co-consecrator at the episcopal ordination. “He was ordained a priest by me in 1995.”

Bishop Ibrahim said during his tenure, the eparchy was “blessed in this time with the vocations to the priesthood of those young people born in the United States.”

He added that Bishop Kalabat served all of his assignments “with dedication and love. He was loved by his parish and especially by the youth. He founded the Eastern Catholic Re-Evangelization Center (in Bloomfield Hills).”

“We are happy that a priest of our diocese will be leading the diocese in this time to come,” said Bishop Ibrahim.

 



Detroit bishops
concelebrate

The ordination was also attended by Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka, Cardinal Adam J. Maida, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, and other bishops, priests and religious of both the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

In a statement before the episcopal ordination, Archbishop Vigneron said the priests and people of the archdiocese “join with our brothers and sisters in the Chaldean Church, asking God’s many blessings on their new bishop, Bishop Francis.”

“We’re confident that God will do many great things through him, and will strengthen him as a good shepherd,” continued the archbishop, adding congratulations to Bishop Ibrahim on behalf of his brother bishops and the people of the archdiocese.

“It’s been wonderful having him here for over 30 years as a minister of the Gospel, and we offer our prayerful support for him in this new phase of his ministry,” he said.

Fr. Matthew Zetouna, associate pastor of Holy Martyrs Chaldean Catholic Church in Sterling Heights, was one of the priests who attended the episcopal ordination.

Fr. Zetouna said the “magnitude of the ordination for the Chaldean Church seriously cannot be understated.”

“Bishop Francis Kalabat, who is officially now the youngest Catholic bishop in the United States (at age 44), will usher in a whole new era for the Chaldean Church in Metro Detroit, with God’s help,” said Fr. Zetouna. “When I saw the patriarch, cardinals, and numerous bishops at the ordination, my heart rejoiced at the support of the universal Church. The celebration is not limited to the Chaldean Church, but it is for all.”

Fr. Tim Birney, a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit who attended Sacred Heart Major Seminary with Bishop Kalabat, said the new bishop had invited him to attend the ordination.

“I know he’ll bring a lot of energy, I know he is able to connect very well with the young people,” said Fr. Birney. “Being so young himself, he’ll really do a phenomenal job with the younger generation in particular, and continue what has been a real blessing to the Chaldean community.”

A friend of Bishop Kalabat, Fr. Jeffery Day, pastor of St. Fabian Parish in Farmington Hills, said he was “very much struck by the beauty of the liturgy. Even though I do not speak the language, there was still great beauty in hearing the people and the clergy singing and praising God in their native tongue.”

“I also thought that Bishop Kalabat preached very powerfully,” said Fr. Day. “His comment that the event was ‘not about me’ was very profound, as he directed the people to thank God for what was happening that day.”

 

Mar Francis Kalabat

Born: May 13, 1970, in Kuwait

Education: Entered St. Francis Seminary in San Diego, Calif., in 1989; in 1992, he continued his studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, and was ordained a priest in 1995 by Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim.

Assignments: Then-Fr. Frank Kalabat was assigned first to Mother of God Cathedral in Southfield, where he served for 10 years. He was then made pastor of St. Thomas Parish in West Bloomfield in 2001, which was his assignment until his ordination as bishop in 2014.

Other accomplishments: Fr. Kalabat also served as director of vocations for the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, and served as director of the Eastern Catholic Re-Evangelization Center in West Bloomfield.

‘Mar’ Francis: The title “Mar,” from the Syriac and Aramaic languages and literally meaning “my lord,” is used for bishops in many Eastern rites.

Eparchy: The Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle serves 105,000 U.S. Catholics in the eastern half of the country, mostly of Chaldean descent. Metro Detroit has the highest concentration of Chaldeans in the United States, and seven of the eparchy’s parishes are in Michigan.