In 1902
Exarch John Haddad
began his missionary
in the Midwestern
portion of the
United States. On
August 15th
of that year, while
studying English at
St. Ignatius
College, Father
Haddad established a
Melkite Catholic
Church on Sherman
Street in Chicago.
As a friend of
Milwaukee archbishop
Katzer, Father
Haddad made frequent
trips to Wisconsin
and conducted the
first Wisconsin
Melkite liturgies at
St. Josephat's and
in St. John's
Cathedral. Because
of his monthly
missionary trips
throughout the
Midwest, in 1905
Father Haddad was
given the honorific
"Pastor of the
Syrians in Chicago,
Milwaukee,
Etc."
About
1910 Father Timothy
Jock came to
Milwaukee at the
urging of Roman
Archbishop Messmer.
Father Jock had been
a
"missionary"
priest serving large
parts of the Midwest
before Messmer
appointed him as
pastor of the St.
George Syrian
Mission. The former
saloon hall at 627
State Street was
rented from the
Pabst Brewing
Company for the sum
of $20.00 a month.
In 1914 Father Jock
moved back east to
continue his service
to Eastern
Catholics.
For
nearly two years,
Milwaukee's Melkites
did not have a
priest - but then in
1915 Archbishop
Messmer was able to
recruit Exarch
Anthony Aneed. Aneed
was a great scholar
and important
prelate, who had
been a member of the
Eastern Patriarchal
Delegation to the
Great Centennial in
honor of St. John
Chrysostom. Although
Aneed had been the
Exarch of Beirut, he
agreed to come to
Milwaukee to build
the community and a
"proper"
church.
