I’d love to attend a Maronite Mass one of these days. Here in South Carolina there is only one Maronite parish in the entire state, and it’s about three hours away from me.
That would be St. Rafka Maronite Catholic Church in Greer. Saint Rafka Maronite Church is a Catholic Mission of the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church. Geographically, the Mission is under the jurisdiction of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, New York. Saint Rafka’s Mission was established for the Maronite Catholics living within the state of South Carolina by Bishop Stephen Hector Douehi, now Eparch Emeritus, in 2000.
Father Bartholomew Leon, O.S.B., pastor of Saint Rafka Maronite since 2006, is a native of New Orleans, LA. Ordained as a Benedictine priest in 1985, he has served parishes in Texas, Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Father Bart helped bring a small community of Maronites together in the Upstate of South Carolina into a flourishing parish, with a new church complex, in Greer, SC.
I met Father Bart at the installation of our Bishop Gregory John Mansour. He is an affable individual with a deep love for the Maronite Church. They offer a Sunday evening mass at 7pm and it is entirely in English. Perhaps some day you can make a trip to Greer and experience the beauty of the Maronite liturgy.
St. Rafka Maronite Catholic Church - official web site.