Cardinal Mykola Bychok, “If we consider this appointment an honour, then this honour belongs not to me, but to our Martyr Church”
On Sunday, December 8, at the St. Sophia Cathedral in Rome, Cardinal Mykola Bychok led a Prayer Service for Peace in Ukraine. Numerous guests joined the prayer, having arrived in Rome for the Consistory held the previous day, during which Bishop Mykola was elevated to the rank of Cardinal of the Catholic Church. We are pleased to present the text of his speech delivered after the service.
Beloved in Christ!
I give thanks to the Almighty Lord for all His graces and bounties. Today, I pray with you and for you in this Basilica of Hagia Sophia, which has become a center of spiritual life for Ukrainians in the eternal city of Rome and far beyond. In times of persecution, this shrine became a place of preservation of Kyiv’s Christian identity and a guarantee of the unity of our Ukrainian people in their native lands and settlements.
Patriarch Josyf Slipyj left us a great spiritual heritage: “And when you look at St. Sophia Cathedral and make pilgrimages to it as to your native shrine and offer prayer in it, remember that I leave you this Cathedral as a sign and symbol of the destroyed and desecrated Ukrainian churches of God… And above all, let St. Sophia Cathedral be for you a leading sign and witness of the Council of Living Ukrainian Souls, a holy place of prayer and liturgical sacrifice for the dead, living, and unborn! I pray to God to protect the Cathedral of Souls of the Future Ukrainian Generations!” (Testament of Patriarch Josyf Slipyj).
These words remain relevant today, as the enemy continues its attempts to destroy our Christian, spiritual, cultural, and national identity. In Ephesians 1:4 we read: “Before the world was created, he chose us: He chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless, to live in love in His presence.” We have all been chosen by God to do His will in everything we do, to live holy lives, and to give glory to God for all that we have received.
God reveals His will to us in many ways. For me, God’s will was revealed gradually—whether through my religious upbringing at home, my vocation to monasticism and later to the priestly ministry, or through the Synod of Bishops of our Church calling me to the episcopal ministry and entrusting me with the care of the faithful of our Church in Australia and Oceania. Another part of God’s mysterious plan for me was the unexpected—and I must confess, overwhelming—news of my appointment as a cardinal by His Holiness Pope Francis. If one considers this appointment an honor, this honor belongs not to me but to our Martyr Church. Personally, I see this appointment as another element of my vocation within the Church, which I will strive to fulfill in the spirit of obedience to God’s will, the Catholic Church, and as a faithful son of our local Church and my native Ukrainian people. For me, this appointment is not an honor but rather a cross—a cross that I do not carry alone. I am supported by the words of St. Paul the Apostle: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:19–20).
In my vocation, I am also inspired by the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose feast of the Immaculate Conception we celebrate today. The Blessed Virgin Mary was chosen by God from the moment of her conception. She is an example for us of how to live in service to God and our neighbors. My entire spiritual life and priesthood have been deeply shaped by devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
From early childhood, I remember the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes and her words to St. Bernadette: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima also became an important part of my life. In 1917, the Blessed Virgin called on all of us to pray for the conversion of Russia. Her call to pray the rosary remains just as important in 2024.
The rosary has been, and continues to be, a vital part of my daily prayer routine. At the beginning of my monastic life in the Redemptorist community, when I received my vestments, I was given a rosary by the Father Protohegumen, who said: “Brother, take the spiritual sword.”
The rosary is our spiritual sword, capable of overcoming all the forces of evil and their servants because, as Our Lady reminded us in Fatima, God’s love is stronger than all the hatred in the world. The rosary is a prayer through which we can overcome hatred and fulfill our vocation as messengers and bearers of God’s sacrificial and faithful love.
It is this spiritual sword that will help the people of Ukraine defeat the enemy. It is through the power of prayer and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary that we gain strength to fight the good fight and proclaim God’s love in Ukraine and throughout the world.
Pray for me so that I may faithfully serve the universal Church and our local Church in this new ministry. Your prayers give me great strength to carry this cross.
Now, I ask all of you to join me in prayer, saying one decade of the rosary for peace in Ukraine and throughout the world, for His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav and the Synod of the UGCC, for our soldiers, doctors, chaplains, the wounded, captives, missing persons, and all who have been affected by the war.
In conclusion, I express my sincere gratitude to Fr. Marco Semehen, Rector of Hagia Sophia; bishops, priests, and all people of goodwill who contributed to the organization of today’s celebration. May the Lord bless you!
