A History of
St. Anthony Maronite Church
Danbury, Connecticut
1932 – 2008
Together with 72 Maronite famili
es living in Danbury, Connecticut Fr. Ignatius Sayegh founde
d the Parish of St. Anthony's in the autumn of 1932. Soon thereafter, a large home was purchased on New Street and converted into their first church. The first floor of the structure was made over into the church, while the second floor served as a rectory.
Two years later in 1934 Chorbishop Louis Zouain succeeded Fr. Ignatius as pastor of St. Anthony. He served for only one year, and in 1935 was followed as pastor by his nephew, Chorbishop George Zouain. Also in that year Chorbishop George Zouain founded St. Anthony's Ladies Guild, which remains active in the life of the parish to this day. By 1950 Msgr. 
Zouain was already planning for the future and the building of a new St. A
nthony's. He purchased land on Granville Avenue, the present site of the church, which was not well received by some of the parishioners. They were upset to think he would move the church so far away from the Maronite community at Elm and New streets; consequently it would be years before a building committee for the new church would actually be formed. Msgr. Zouain served faithfully as spiritual leader of St. Anthony's until his transfer to
Afterward, Fr. George Saad briefly ministered to the Maronites of Danbury before assumi
ng his duties as pastor of Our Lady of Purgatory in New Bedford, Massachusetts later that same year. So from late 1952 through 1953 and again in 1954 until 1956 Fr. Edward Zibell served as administrator of the parish. He is credited during those years with organizing St. Anthony's first youth organization for the parish teenagers, which is known today as our MYO.
On the feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 1956 Msgr. Semaan Farris was appointed as St. Anthony's fifth pastor. He immediately set about the arduous task of securing a new and larger church building for the people of St. Anthony's, for by now the community had grown to 240 families. By the late fall of that year Bishop Lawrence Shehan of the Bridgeport Diocese granted his permission for the Maronites of Danbury to inaugurate a building fund program. To that end, Msgr. Farris formed St. Anthony's first Men's Society to organize the building fund effort, and Chicory Dewan and Sedella Jowdy were appointed co-chairmen of the project.
Following two years of untiring work by the Maronite people of Danbury a new church was constructed on 17 Granville Avenue at the very site, which years earlier had caused such a ruckus. The new St. Anthony's was solemnly dedicated on Sunday, November 2, 1958 at 11am. Present were many dignitaries among them Bishop Shehan, who gave permission for the building, Msgr. Elias El-Hayek the pastor of St. Maron's in Torrington and Chorbishop George Webby the pastor of St. Ann's in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
During Msgr. Farris' tenure as pastor of St. Anthony's two of the community's young men were inspired to enter the Seminary, Bishop Robert Shaheen and Msgr. Kenneth Michael. These native sons of St. Anthony's would in 1961 become members of the first class at the newly created Maronite Seminary in Washington, DC. Four years later in 1964 Bishop Shaheen would go on to become the first Maronite priest ordained in America, and on December 5, 2000 would be appointed the first American born Maronite Bishop.
In 1967 the foundations were laid for the first ever Maronite Diocese in America, and so with the arrival of Archbishop Francis Zayek the faithful people of St. Anthony had their first Maronite Bishop. He would reassign Msgr. Farris to be pastor of St. Anthony's in Lawrence, Massachusetts from where many of the Maronite families in Danbury had immigrated looking for work in the hat factories.
In 1970 Msgr. Sami Hayek was appointed the new pastor of St. Anthony's in Danbury. From the beginning a new rectory adjacent to the church building on Granville Avenue had been planned, however construction did not actually get underway until 1972 under the leadership of Msgr. Hayek. The general contractor in charge of construction was St. Anthony's own Albert Ackell. Msgr. Hayek would serve as pastor in the new rectory until 1977 when he was transferred to Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Easton, Pennsylvania.
He would return again to Danbury in the summer of 2006 when he retired at age 75.
Meanwhile, Msgr. Michael Kail would be named the pastor of St. Anthony's in 1977, and soon after would begin work remodeling the unfinished parish hall beneath the church. Work on the hall was completed in October of 1978, and provided the parish with an air-conditioned banquet facility. Serving as Parochial Vicar under Msgr. Kail was Fr. Thomas Coover. Msgr. Kail continued his leadership of the parish until early 1981.
In the spring of 1981 Msgr. Ronald Beshara, former Chancellor of the Maronite Diocese, assumed the pastoral responsibilities of the Maronite Community. During his time at the parish (1981-1990) he created a Scholarship Fund for the college bound teenagers of the parish; he significantly increased the membership of the Order of St. Sharbel, air-conditioned the church, and brought the Maronite Convention to Danbury in 1985. From the summer of 1984 to just after the convention in 1985, St. Anthony's was served consecutively by two Assistant Pastors, first Fr. James Root, and then Fr. Paul Mooradd. Msgr. Beshara also invited Deacon Robert Calabrese to join the worship community.
When Msgr. Beshara left St. Anthony's in 1990, for a brief period the then Assistant Pastor, Msgr. Sharbel Maroun managed the parish until Msgr. Moussa Joseph could take up residence as the new pastor. Under Msgr. Joseph's guidance, the parish hall and kitchen were again remodeled and refurbished to enhance the ambiance and utility of the facility.
Fr. Larry Jensen came in 1998 to be the new pastor of St. Anthony's replacing Msgr. Joseph. Together with the assistance of countless dedicated parishioners he revived in 2004 the Lebanese Festival or Mahrajan held each August in the church parking lot. In the summer of 2006, after eight years Fr. Jensen was reassigned as pastor of St. Joseph's Maronite Church in Waterville, Maine.
That same summer in 2006 pastor, Fr. Paul Mooradd, returned to Danbury after 21 years to take up his priestly duties this time as pastor of St. Anthony's Parish. Shortly after his arrival, Fr. Paul immediately set about refurbishing the parish buildings and facilities in preparation for the 75th Anniversary of the founding of St. Anthony’s Parish back in 1932. The rectory chimney and breezeway were rebuilt along with all the slate stairs and iron railings. All the eaves and aluminum siding were repaired and painted, while new air conditioners were installed in the church, hall and rectory to be ready for the Anniversary celebrations on November 10-11, 2007.
That spring in April 2008 the Pasta Dinners were begun. Remolding of the Church Hall was finished during the summer in preparation of November 1, 2008 when St. Anthony’s would celebrate the 50th Anniversary of its Church Building. Fr. Paul was reassigned in June 2009 to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Fr. Jean Younes came to St. Anthony in June 2009 replacing Fr. Paul Mooradd. Fr. Jean has many plans for our parish as well as reaching out to our community. Father has already given the Ladies Guild a beautiful retreat at the Linwood House in New York. It was truly a spiritual day and one that we’ll always remember. Also, Fr. Jean has formed our first Maronite Young Adult program (MYA). This group will consist of anyone from the ages of 18 and above. Their first gathering will take place on November 28, 2009, beginning with a mass followed by a reception at the rectory immediately following liturgy. Moreover, our MYA group will organize a Holiday Party at the Lebanon American Club on December 26, 2009. Currently, there are 30 young adults that have committed themselves to this group. In addition, Father has formed a small group of women who quietly pray for the sick of our parish. Another group that Fr. Jean wants to form is a Prolife Group in which men and women take a stand in protecting life from birth to death.
Furthermore, Fr. Jean has also developed a Website to provide information about St. Anthony Maronite Church to the local community and the national community. You may logon to www.stanthonydanbury.com and enjoy the very informative, educational, historical and spiritual information about St. Anthony Maronite Church in Danbury, Connecticut as well as the Maronite Church throughout the world. It is truly a Website for all ages to enjoy. The site will have weekly updates so check it out often. Also, Father would like to create classrooms for our children for our religious education program. Moreover, Fr. Jean would like to have classes to teach the Aramaic language for the people who are interested.
Meanwhile, by virtue of being members of St. Anthony Church, parishioners will be encouraged to become members of the National Apostolate of Maronites (NAM). He will have several recruitment drives throughout the year. This will give our parishioners a great opportunity to attend events such as the NAM Convention and the MYO Workshop in the summer. Also, Fr. Jean would like to begin recruiting more members to join the Order of St. Sharbel which financially supports the seminary and our retired priests.
Finally, Fr. Jean will be putting together a group from our parish and surrounding Eastern Rite parishes to travel to Lebanon in April 2011. Many parishioners have families still living in Lebanon while others want to visit the home towns of where their ancestors resided.
To date, November 2009, many parishioners are extremely happy with the goals that Fr. Jean has implemented and has planned for us. We look forward to many, many years of his spiritual guidance and leadership.
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