Eastern rite churches in the Diocese of Lansing

Msgr. George Michalek, judicial vicar and archivist for the Diocese of Lansing shared information about the different Eastern rites that are recognized as part of the Catholic Church.Five churches in the diocese belong to this group. They are Our Lady of Lebanon in Flint, which is Maronite rite; the Byzantine Catholic Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Flushing; St. Paul in Grand Blanc, which is Chaldean rite; St. Joseph Melkite Byzantine in Lansing; and St. Vladimir in Flint, which is Ukrainian rite.
Msgr. Michalek said, “All the rites are under the Catholic Church. There are 22 rites, and the Latin rite, and all are united to the Holy See. They have different languages, different expressions.”
Father Pierre Bassil who is from Lebanon and the pastor of Our Lady of Lebanon said, “We are a very unique church. We are the only church to embrace everybody. We have 200 parishioners and we have Masses in English, Arabic and Lebanese.”
"We have almost 100 families and most are of Lebanese or Palestinian background. Here any Catholic can receive the sacrament. We are all the same faith, just a different style of religion," said Father James Graham, pastor of St. Joseph Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church.