University Hosts Celebration of Holy Qurbana

For the first time in the University’s history, Seton Hall hosted a celebration of Holy Qurbana. This Syro-Malabar liturgy, held in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception on February 4 and attended by approximately 100 faithful attendees, was followed by dinner and fellowship. Father Joby Joseph was the celebrant. The celebration was facilitated by Campus Ministry.

As explained in Lumen Gentium, "the Eucharist is the fount and apex of the whole Christian life." In the Syro-Malabar tradition, an Eastern church in union with Rome, the celebration of the Eucharist takes place during the liturgy, known as Holy Qurbana. This celebration draws the faithful closer to Christ through scripture, prayer, song, ritual and the Blessed Sacrament.

The Syro-Malabar Church in the United States is under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Catholic eparchy of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago. Established in 2001, the diocese is committed to ministering to its thriving and growing community. A significant apostolate of the diocese is the Diocesan Youth Apostolate, one of whose initiatives is to bring Qurbana to campuses across the United States.

Nimmy Roy ’27, Social and Behavioral Sciences and Catholic Studies double major, a Syro-Malabar Catholic, was instrumental in bringing Qurbana to Seton Hall. She explained, "Qurbana on Campus has been an ongoing event where Holy Qurbana is celebrated at Universities and Colleges around the USA to spread the love and fellowship of our Syro-Malabar faith to the young Catholic communities that exist within and surrounding the college campuses around the country. Our Diocesan Youth Apostolate (DYA) declared 2023 as the "Year of Campus Ministry," which is where the initial desire to bring Qurbana to Seton Hall university began."

Roy was excited by the opportunity for Seton Hall to participate in this initiative, noting that it would "bring Syro-Malabar students on campuses together and allow them to feel a sense of ownership of this identity and meet other Syro students even when they are away from home, and to show the universality of the Church by sharing our unique traditions and liturgy as Syro-Malabar Catholics."

Both Syro-Malabar Catholics and those from outside the tradition joined in the liturgical celebration. Roy explained that Syro-Malabar Catholics who participated "were in awe by the beauty and peaceful aura of our Immaculate Conception Chapel and were thrilled to see the liturgy they grew up in be brought to Seton Hall for others to partake in."

Those who were from outside the Syro-Malabar tradition remarked to Roy about the beauty of Holy Qurbana: "Many people told me that the liturgy itself was beautiful to partake in visually and through the music and the chanting. Prior to Qurbana, a lot of people did not know about the existence of the Syro-Malabar rite or of other Eastern churches. There were also individuals who were unable to attend that reached out to me personally and asked if they could join us for a Qurbana at my local parish one day. It personally made me overjoyed being able to share my tradition and faith with our Seton Hall family and to hear how many people this touched."

Roy was excited to extend the reach of this celebration of Holy Qurbana even further, sharing a video of the liturgy with her Integrated Seminar in Catholic Studies class in the Catholic Studies Program, taught by Ines A. Murzaku, Ph.D., professor, Department of Religion, director, Catholic Studies Program, and founding chair, Department of Catholic Studies.

Categories: Faith and Service