Mar Addai Chaldean Catholic Church
24010 Coolidge Hwy.
Oak Park, MI 48237
Tel: (248) 547-4648
Fax: (248) 399-9089
Congregation Organizer:
Rev. Michael J. Bazzi
Church Founding Pastor:
Rev. Stephen Kallabat
Current Pastor:
Rev. Stephan Kallabat
Parochial Vicar:
Rev. Fadi Habib Khalaf
Parochial Vicar:
Rev. Sulemina Denha
Rev. Stephen Kallabat
Fr. Stephan Kallabat was born in Telkaif, Iraq. After completing seven years of scholarly work for the priesthood in Mosul, Iraq Fr. Kallabat was accepted at the prestigious university in Rome. There he spent six additional years of scholarly work in the areas of philosophy and theology and an additional four years in scriptural studies.
Ordained a priest in 1966 by Pope Paul VI he returned to Iraq to serve the Holy Family parish until his departure to Michigan, U.S. in 1979 to serve the growing population of Chaldeans. Fr. Kallabat was appointed assistant pastor, then pastor of Mar Addai Parish in Oak Park, Michigan.
Hitting the ground running, Fr. Kallabat is credited with raising the necessary funds to provide Chaldeans in the local area a church and community center of their own. Fr. Kallabat continues to serve the parish and Chaldean community as their pastor.
Rev. Fadi Habib Khalaf
Fr. Fadi Habib Khalaf was born in Baghdad May 10, 1974. Fr. Khalaf graduated from Baghdad University in 1997 and soon after joined the Chaldean seminary in Baghdad. While there Fr. Khalaf earned a scholarship to attend the Urbanian Pontifical University in Rome. There he earned another bachelor’s degree in theology and was ordained deacon in Rome on May 8, 2004.
Fr. Khalaf then returned to Baghdad where he was officially ordained as a priest. Afterward Fr. Khalaf returned to Rome to further his studies. In 2006 Fr. Khalaf was appointed to serve Chaldeans in the United States.
In the summer of 2006 he arrived to the Chaldean diocese of St. Thomas the Apostle and was cardinated into the Diocese and elected to serve at Mar Addai parish on March 15, 2007 as the Parochial Vicar.
Rev. Suleiman Denha
Rev. Suleiman Denha was born in Telkaif, Iraq. He began his priestly studies in 1951 in Mosul, Iraq and was ordained in 1959. Fr. Denha taught in Telkaif until 1961, when he was appointed pastor in Basra, Iraq in 1966.
After immigrating to the Unite States in 1979, he was appointed to serve the Chaldean community in Virginia. A year later, Fr. Denha was recruited to assist the much larger population of Chaldeans in Detroit.
Upon his arrival Fr. Denha assisted Fr. Yasso at Sacred Heart Church. In 1982 he was asked to temporally assist St. Joseph Church in Troy, returning a year later Sacred Heart.
In 1991, he was appointed to Mar Addai Church in Oak Park, Michigan as the Parochial Vicar, where he still serves the community today.