LINCOLN — Rt. Reverend Exarch Joseph S. Haggar, better known as “Father Joe,” passed away peacefully early Sunday morning March, 23, on the third Sunday of Lent and the Veneration of the Holy Cross, at the HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence. He was surrounded by family, parishioners, and Father Ephrem Kardouh, his successor at St. Basil the Great Melkite Catholic Church in Lincoln, where Father Joe served for over 58 of his 59 years as a Catholic priest. He is survived by his nieces Julie (Albano) Plaut and her husband Jerry of Canton, Georgia; Joanne (Albano) McGarrh and her husband Barry of Henderson, Kentucky; Renee (Colabella) Chorun of Flemington, New Jersey, and his nephew Mark Colabella and his wife Martha of Medfield, Mass.; many grand and great-grand nieces and nephews and his devoted parishioners of St. Basil Church. He was predeceased by his parents Sam N. and Julia M. (Homsany) Haggar, his brother Phillip, sister Eleanor (Haggar) Albano and brother-in-law Sal Albano, sister Yvonne (Haggar) Colabella and brother-in-law Richard Colabella.
Father Joe was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on September 29,1939. He entered Saint Basil Seminary, Methuen, Mass., in 1957 and was awarded a B.A. degree from Saint Anselm College, Manchester, N.H. The Most Reverend George Hakim, Archbishop of Galilee, ordained him a lector and subdeacon in 1964. The Most Reverend Stephen Kociscko, Ruthenian Catholic Bishop of Passaic, N.J., ordained him a deacon in 1965. Ordination to the priesthood in 1966 was at the hand of the Most Reverend George Hakim. Immediately following ordination, Father Joe was assigned as assistant pastor of Saint Joseph Church, Akron, Ohio, for approximately six months. On July 5,1966, Father Joe was transferred to Rhode Island where he became assistant pastor at Saint Basil Church in Central Falls, and at Saint Elias Church, Woonsocket. That same year, he was named notary-actuary of the marriage tribunal of the Melkite Exarchate. In 1968, Father Haggar earned a licentiate in canon law from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Post-graduate work was completed at Boston College and Saint John University resulting in sociology, psychology, and English degrees.
Father Joe was named pastor of Saint Basil the Great Melkite Catholic Church, Central Falls, on July 16,1973, and was the youngest priest in Rhode Island to be made pastor, and he assumed the same role in Saint Elias Church, Woonsocket, on July 1, 1980.
Archbishop Joseph Tawil named him judicial vicar of the marriage tribunal of the Melkite Diocese of Newton in May 1982, an office he held until January 1986. He held positions on the College of Consultors and finance council until his ”retirement” on June 30, 2020.
One of his achievements is the publication of the Byzantine Melkite Sacramentary in 1970 and he was also responsible for setting up the liturgical calendar (ordo) until 1999, which is still printed by other members of the clergy. He is also the composer of several musical chants.
The rank of Archimandrite was bestowed upon him on July 6, 1983.
ln 1987, the Central Falls School Department named Father Haggar a member of the Committee on AIDS Education for the youth in the school.
On the occasion of his 50th birthday, September 29, 1990, Father Joe was appointed chaplain of the Central Falls Police Department with the rank of Lieutenant, and he was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1991. In December 1991, he was named chaplain of the Central Falls Fire Department, and these positions he still held until his death.
In 1992, Father Haggar was elected by the College of Consultors to be apostolic administrator of the Melkite Diocese of Newton during its vacancy, until an appointment of a new bishop was made by the Melkite Synod and the See of Rome.
On March 29, 2000, Father Haggar was appointed chaplain of the Lincoln Police Department.
On February 13, 2003, the Holy Father, now-Saint John Paul II, appointed Father Joe as Eparch of the Melkite Eparchy of St. Sauveur of Montreal and all of Canada. Because of his serious health concerns, Father Joe humbly and exceptionally requested the Holy Father to excuse him from this obligation of service to the Church.
On July 19, 2003, at the 39th National Melkite Convention in Providence, Father Haggar was elevated to Exarch, an honorary ecclesiastical title of distinction bestowed by bishops and patriarchs, as a mark of respect and gratitude for service to the Church.
On January 11, 2005, he was appointed Protosyncellus of the Eparchy of Newton with the rights, privileges, and responsibilities attached to that office.
He was in the active ministry of his priesthood until Bishop Nicholas accepted his resignation, and placed him to the administrative ministry, now pastor emeritus, St. Basil the Great Melkite Catholic Church in Lincoln, on July 1, 2020.
Before he passed away, Father Joe had just marked his 59th anniversary as a priest while convalescing at St. Antoine Community in North Smithfield.
Father Joe will be waked at St. Basil the Great Melkite Catholic Church in Lincoln, on Friday April, 4, from 2- 6:30 p.m., immediately followed by the Byzantine Funeral Prayer For Clergy from 6:30-8 p.m. The parish will honor him with an overnight Prayer Vigil at the church. Father Joe’s Funeral of Divine Liturgy will take place on Saturday, April 5, at 10 a.m., and will be presided by His Excellency Bishop Francois Beyrouti followed by the Rite of Committal at St. Basil Cemetery in Cumberland.
Donations in Father Joe’s memory may be made to the St. Basil the Great Melkite Catholic Church Building Fund in lieu of flowers.
