Cardinal-elect Mykola Bychok: “I understand how much responsibility this appointment entrusts to me.”
On Sunday, 6th October, after the traditional recitation of the “Angelus” in St. Peter’s Square, His Holiness Pope Francis proclaimed His Grace Mykola Bychok CSsR, the Bishop of the Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne for Ukrainian Catholics in Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania, a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, being one of 21 new Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.
Speaking to the assembled pilgrims, Pope Francis announced that on the 8th of December 2024 he will hold a Consistory to appoint new cardinals. The Holy Father stated, “Their origin expresses the universality of the Church, which never ceases to proclaim God’s merciful love for all people on earth. The inclusion of the new cardinals in the Diocese of Rome also reveals the inextricable bond between the Holy See and the local Churches scattered throughout the world.”
On receiving the news of his appointment, Cardinal-elect Bishop Mykola said, “I, as many others, have received this news with great surprise. I am certainly feeling excited because this appointment is a great privilege. This is not a privilege granted to me personally, but a privilege granted by Pope Francis to the entire Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Catholic Church in Australia.”
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“I will endeavour to follow the worthy example of my predecessor Cardinals: Patriarch Josyf Cardinal Slipyj, who, after his release after 18 years in a Soviet gulag and moving to Rome, became the voice of our Church in the free world and, using various forums, emphasised the persecution of the Churches in the USSR and called for more radical actions to protect the rights of believers.”
“Myroslav Cardinal Lubachivsky, who returned to lead the Church in Ukraine, despite his advanced years and physical frailty, set in place the structures and institutions that helped our church to transition from persecution to freedom.”
“His Beatitude Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, thanks to whom the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, after emerging from the catacombs and re-establishing in Western Ukraine, returned the seat of the Archbishop Major from Lviv to Kyiv. Under his leadership, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church began to establish Central, Eastern, and Southern Ukraine.”
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Bishop Mykola also reflected on his predecessor in Australia. “Cardinal George Pell, who achieved so much in Australia and Rome and despite all the accusations and trials, was faithful to God to the end”.
“I understand how much responsibility this appointment entrusts to me,” Bishop Mykola said. “Responsibility for the life and future of our entire church. Knowing the difficult times that our Ukrainian people are going through because of the war, I will continue to inform the Catholic world about what is happening in our land and constantly remind them of Ukraine.”
“This is also a great responsibility to the Catholic Church in Australia, where faith is gradually being lost and secularisation is spreading. I see these challenges, and I ask the Lord to guide me on this path and help me to accept and respond to them with dignity.”
Bishop Mykola concluded by saying, “Realising this great responsibility, I ask everyone to pray for me, so that the Lord may give me the strength to fulfil the vocation entrusted to me by the Holy Church with dignity!”
This is a significant event for the entire Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Ukrainian people. 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.
For both the UCGC and the Catholic Church in Australia, he will be the only Cardinal. Since the Melbourne Eparchy of the UGCC covers not only Australia but also New Zealand and Oceania, Bishop Mykola will be one of the cardinals of Oceania, together with Cardinals in Wellington, Tonga, Port Morsby, and Dili.
Press office of the Melbourne Eparchy
