POPE FRANCIS NAMES NEW CARDINALS

October 7, 2024

In a significant moment for the history of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis announced the appointment of 21 new cardinals. On Sunday, October 6, 2024, after the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis announced that a consistory would be held on December 8 to install new cardinals in the Vatican. Among the 21 appointees is Bishop Mykola Bychok, the Bishop of Melbourne of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in Australia. The newly appointed Cardinals will serve as important advisers to the Pope. As a cardinal, Bishop Mykola Bychok will be one of the electors responsible for selecting the next pope when the time comes. His new role as a cardinal also will strengthens the voice of Eastern Catholic Churches within the Vatican, ensuring that the unique traditions and challenges faced by these communities are given greater attention. The appointment of Bishop Mykola Bychok as a cardinal is particularly significant in the context of the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine and the plight of Ukrainians across the world. His elevation to the rank of cardinal not only honors his personal service but also highlights the Church's solidarity with Ukraine during these challenging times.

In the history of the UGCC, there have been 5 bishops who were proclaimed cardinals: Metropolitan Mykhailo Levytskyi (1774-1858), Metropolitan Sylvester Sembratovych (1836-1898), Patriarch Josyf Slipyj (1892-1984), Patriarch Myroslav Ivan Lubachivskyi (1914-2000), and Patriarch Lubomyr Husar (1933-2017).

In the history of the Catholic Church in Australia, there have been 7 cardinals, the last of whom, Cardinal George Pell, passed away in January 2023. Thus, Bishop Mykola Bychok will become the sixth cardinal in the history of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the 8th cardinal in the history of the Catholic Church in Australia.

Bishop Mykola Bychok was born on February 13, 1980, in Ternopil, Ukraine. In July 1997, he joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), where he received his monastic and theological training in both Ukraine and Poland. He later obtained a license in pastoral theology. After taking his vows on August 17, 2003, Bychok was ordained as a priest on May 3, 2005.

Throughout his career, Bishop Mykola engaged in several pastoral and administrative roles. He began his ministry at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Prokopyevsk, Russia. Later, he served as the Ihumen of the Redemptorist Fathers Monastery and managed a parish in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, while also fulfilling duties as a provincial finance secretary. In 2015, he moved to the United States, where he served at St. John the Baptist Parish in Newark, part of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia of the UGCC.

On January 15, 2020, Pope Francis appointed Fr. Mykola Bychok as the Bishop of Melbourne of the UGCC, following the resignation of Bishop Petro Stasiuk. However, due to COVID-19-related delays, Bishop Mykola's ordination took place later, on July 12, 2021, in Lviv, Ukraine.

This new chapter in bishop Mykola`s ministry offers hope and support not only to the Ukrainian diaspora but to the global Church, which continues to stand with those enduring hardship.

As reported by the Information Department of the UGCC, with details from Vatican News and Eparchy of Sts Peter and Paul of Melbourne for Ukrainian Catholics in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania.

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