Elmont, N.Y., Jan 5, 2016 / 02:04 am America/Denver (CNA).
Pope Francis on Monday established a new eparchy for the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in the United States and Canada, to serve several thousand Catholics of the India-based Church.
The eparchy was created Jan. 4 by elevating an existing apostolic exarchate.
The Pope named Bishop Thomas Mar Eusebius Naickamparambil as head of the Eparchy of St. Mary, Queen of Peace. Bishop Naickamparambil had been head of the preceding apostolic exarchate since it was established in 2010.
The new eparchy will be based at St. Vincent de Paul Malankara Catholic Cathedral in Elmont, New York on Long Island, Vatican Radio reports.
The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church’s faith and customs are ancient. It dates back to the time of St. Thomas the Apostle’s evangelization of India in the first century. The Church celebrates the West Syrian, or Antiochian rite, as do the Maronite Catholic Church and the Syriac Catholic Church.