Byzantine Franciscans

Among the many Eastern Europeans who crossed the Atlantic in the late 19th and early 20th century, were families from Ukraine and, what is today, northeastern Slovakia.  This region in the Carpathian Mountains has long been inhabited by a people called Rusyn (mistakenly called by some “Russian”).  Their Latin name is Ruthenia.  They were never a country unto themselves, being conquered by more powerful peoples from the east, west or north.  They were, from time immemorial, Eastern Christian, perhaps even from the time of the great missionary brothers, Ss. Cyril and Methodius.

They followed Greek Orthodox customs, meaning they followed the Greek Church’s customs of liturgy, prayer and policy.  Having been Orthodox for several centuries, they agreed to union with Rome toward the end of the 16th century.

When the immigrants landed here, oftentimes they were considered so strange to established Roman Catholics that they did not even seem to be Catholic at all!  After World War II and the influx of many Eastern European refugees to the United States, some Franciscan friars who were originally Byzantine Rite (Eastern Catholic),both Ukrainian and Ruthenian, sought to reach out to these people in their own language, their own liturgy and their own prayer customs.  Thus began the entity known as the Custody of the Our Lady of the Angels.

They settled in New Canaan, CT and Sybertsville, PA.  These friars served in parishes that were Ukrainian Catholic, Ruthenian Catholic and Melkite (Arab) Catholic – seeking to support the people’s Catholic faith in an often hostile world and bewildering environment.  They also sought to inculcate the Catholic faith of their ancestors by respecting their liturgical, church and cultural customs.

Over the course of years these friars, too, had their ups and downs.  Finally, toward the late 1990s, it became painfully evident that they could no longer continue the way they had been going due to such small numbers.  After prayerful investigation, they decided to merge with the welcoming Assumption BVM Province.

The only house that remains is Holy Dormition Friary in Sybertsville, PA.  The friars, however, continue to serve both Ukrainian and Ruthenian parishes in Pennsylvania and Ohio.  And there are other friars not serving in parishes who are bi-ritual, able to assist the Byzantine Catholic Church in a wider context.