The first Armenian catholic priest sent to Paterson, New Jersey, was Reverend Manuel J. Bazirgenian of Diarbekir. He served the spiritual needs of the community from various chapels in the city from 1909 until 1917 when he became very ill. He died in January of 1922 and was buried in Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, Totowa (Paterson area).
In October of 1925, Reverend Peter Hovassabian was made Pastor to the Armenian Catholic Parish which was still without a church building. For two years the liturgy was celebrated in the basement of St. Michael’s Church on a street that presently carries the name of one of that community’s beloved pastors, Cianci Street in Paterson.
In August of 1926 Father Hovassabian received permission to build a church from Bishop John O’Connor of Newark and on October 30, 1927 the cornerstone of the church on Barclay Street was blessed by the future first Bishop of Paterson: Monsignor Thomas H. McLaughlin. The building was completed and furnished in May of 1928. On June 24 of that same year, after Bishop Thomas J. Walsh blessed the church, the first solemn High Mass was celebrated by Father Hovassabian in the presence of the whole congregation.
At that time two hundred Armenian Catholic families comprised the parish. Another one hundred families of various Eastern rites within the Catholic Church joined the Armenian congregation. They all contributed to the spiritual and financial success of the Parish.
After ten years of very hard work and during the great depression of 1929, Father Hovassabian became ill and was no longer able to function as a pastor. He resigned on June 28, 1938, and passed away on September 4 of that same year in Canada where he spent his last months in the care of his family.
On June 30, 1938, Reverend Paul Michael Kouchakji was appointed Pastor of Sacred Heart Church by Bishop Thomas H. McLaughlin. Father Paul was educated in Beirut, Lebanon, at the Jesuit College. He was ordained on March 8, 1913, and served various parishes in Syria. He established a charitable organization known as El Kalimat (The Word) in Aleppo, Syria, which served a variety of spiritual and concrete services of all the people. He also printed and published a bulletin or monthly journal that was distributed in many parts of the world including the United States.
Father Paul came to the United States on May 28, 1929, after sixteen years of priesthood. For two years he served the Armenian Catholic community of Brooklyn from the Jesuit Church of the Nativity in New York City. He also assisted Father Hovassabian for three years in the care of the Paterson community. On July 3, 1938, he was installed as Pastor. The challenges were great because not only did he have to meet the financial obligation of the newly erected church and liquidate its heavy debts, but he had to do it with a poor flock who were themselves suffering the aftershocks of the depression. In 1938 the debt was a thenstaggering $80,000 and the parish had only $16.00 in the bank. The church building was in need of major repairs. It would take twenty-five years to pay off the debt. During those years, Father Paul preached, conducted retreats, organized sodalities, instructed the young and provided for their recreation.
In March of 1963, the Sacred Heart Church community celebrated three milestones; the clearing of all debt on the church, Father Paul’s fiftieth year ordination to the priesthood, and the twentyfifth year of his pastorate. Father Paul resigned from parish work in August of 1966. For several years, he was cared for at his summer home in Ship Bottom, New Jersey, by devoted members of the parish. He continued to decline and finally went to live at the Little Sisters of the Poor on Dey Street in South Paterson where, on November 24, 1972, he entered into his eternal reward. He was buried in Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, Totowa (Paterson area).
Bishop Lawrence Casey, in August of 1966, appointed Reverend Leo Sarian to succeed Father Paul as Administrator of the parish. Father Leo came from the parish of St. Mark’s in Philadelphia. He had studied at the Gregorian University in Rome. He would serve the Paterson Community for five years, and although there existed a language barrier between the senior Arabic-speaking-only parishioners and himself, he nevertheless was accepted and esteemed by all for his gentleness.
In September of 1971, Father Leo was asked to return to the congregation of St. Mark’s as Bishop Lawrence Casey had appointed the Reverend Elias Boustany as Pastor of Sacred Heart Church. Father Elias was assigned to the United States in 1964 to serve as an assistant to Father Paul Kouchakji. Father Elias was then appointed pastor of the Armenian Catholics of Brooklyn from 1965 to 1971. In September of 1971, he was appointed pastor of Sacred Heart Church, Paterson.
Father Elias Boustany was born in Aleppo, Syria, on October 16, 1916. He studied with the Marist Brothers in Aleppo and then attended the Armenian Pontifical College in Rome. He graduated from Gregorian University and was ordained a priest on April 13, 1941. He continued his studies in Rome because of World War II and obtained a doctorate in Canon Law. He returned to Aleppo and served as both pastor at the church of the Virgin Mary and Chancellor to Bishop Ignatius Batanian. In 1953 Father Elias was appointed a judge of the Intercommunal Catholic Tribunal.
In 1979, as Pastor of Sacred Heart Church, he undertook the Monumental tasks of purchasing a tract of land and erecting a new church building. In July of 1981, the Pope created an Exarchate for Armenian Catholics living in the United States and Canada. This in effect transferred the jurisdiction of the Armenian Rite Clergy living in the United States or Canada from local Roman Bishops to the newly created Exarchate.
Bishop Nerses Setian was the first Armenian Catholic Bishop in the United States. In 1984, the construction of the present church and rectory commenced. Approximately six years would pass before the church was completed. Just as the community of St. Michael’s in Paterson welcomed us before we had a church of our own, so too did the community of Our Lady of the Holy Angels, Little Falls, extend to us its facilities and encouragement. Father Elias frequently acknowledged the generosity and flexibility of Reverend James J. Nero, OFM, Pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Angels and his beautiful community. They together with the never-failing support and encouragement of Bishop Frank Rodimer of Paterson, made the transition from Paterson to Little Falls possible.
Throughout the years of negotiating, contracting, and building, Father Elias was an outspoken advocate for the use of the vernacular during the liturgy. It is through his determination and perseverance that the parish today enjoys a more meaningful participation in Sunday worship. Our New Home – On October 14, 1990, the parishioners of Sacred Heart Church entered their new home and celebrated their first Divine Liturgy. In April of 1991 Father Elias celebrated his fiftieth years of priesthood and the next month, May 12, His Beatitude John Peter XVIII Kasparian, Patriarch of Armenian Catholics, both consecrated the new church and bestowed the title of Monsignor upon Father Elias. Tragically, less than four months later, Monsignor Elias died on September 1, 1991, a Sunday afternoon. He served his flock well during the difficult periods of transition from Paterson to Little Falls; from Roman jurisdiction to Armenian. He is buried in Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, Totowa (Paterson area).
Sacred Heart was served again by the Friars of Holy Angels in Little Falls until in May of 1992, Monsignor Sarkis Gabadian was assigned to our parish. Monsignor Sarkis was the Vicar General of the Armenian Catholic Exarchate. He served the community with charm and spirit. He helped to heal the wound left by the untimely death of Monsignor Elias.
In May of 1993, Father Sarkis was reassigned to St. Mark’s in Philadelphia.
For the next two years (1993 to 1995) Father Armen Gharapetian headed the parish. He died after a long illness and buried in Canada.
On June 18, 1995, the Exarchate welcomed Reverend George Kalousieh as the new pastor of Sacred Heart Church. Born on November 15, 1953, in Aleppo, Syria, Father George entered the Patriarchal Seminary in Bzommar, Lebanon at age 14. At age 20, he was sent to Pontifical Armenian College in Rome. He holds his Baccalaureate from the Patriarchal Seminary in Bzommar, a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and a master in theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. He visited the Sacred Heart Church parish in February of 1980 while recuperating from an auto accident (1977) that almost killed him.
On November 22, 1981, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop George Layek for the Armenian Catholic Archdiocese of Aleppo, Syria. There he served first as pastor of Holy Trinity Church, and also as a religion teacher at St. Gregory the Illuminator School. In 1983 he became rector of the Cathedral of Our Lady Help of Christians and was responsible for the pastoral care of its parish. From 1983 to 1995 he was Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Aleppo. Sacred Heart Parish had been without a priest for four months following the death of Reverend Armen Gharapetian in March of 1995. Meanwhile, Father George was asked by the Exarch to accept the assignment of Little Falls and he accepted. His arrival was met with great warmth from the congregation. Father George celebrated his twenty-fifth anniversary of priesthood with the parish in November of 2006.
Despite many adversities the community is still strong and active. From its humble beginnings in Paterson, this parish comprised of people from all over the Middle East and from various Oriental Rites, struggled through the depression, World War, military conflicts, and poverty to become a center of Armenian and Arabic culture. Just as the church nurtured and sustained the first wave of immigrants at the turn of the last century, so too during this new millennium it continues to be a central organization for the newly arrived inhabitants in the greater Paterson area. The original founding families passed on a religious faith and culture so strong that even the new wave of arrivals are often astonished and amazed that after eighty-three years, our heritage reflects much of what they thought would have been long forgotten. It is to the credit of our grandparents, parents, and our clergy that we owe so much of our identity.