Mykola Bychok, (; born 13 February 1980) is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic prelate who has served as Eparch of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne, Australia since 2020.

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

made him a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

on 7 December 2024, making him the youngest member of the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

and youngest elector in the

2025 papal conclave A conclave was held on 7 and 8 May 2025 to elect a new pope to succeed Pope Francis, Francis, who had died on 21 April 2025. Of the 135 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2025 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. Cardinal Piet ...

. He is a member of the

Redemptorists The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scala ...

Biography

Bychok was born in

Ternopil Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia and Podolia. The populatio ...

in western Ukraine in 1980. He joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, popularly known as the Redemptorists, in July 1997. His religious training took place in Ukraine and Poland, where he obtained a licentiate in pastoral theology. On 17 August 2003, Bychok took his religious vows, and on 3 May 2005 he was ordained a priest in the

Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv The Archeparchy of Lviv is an ecclesiastical territory or ecclesiastical province of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — a Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular Eastern Catholic Church, that is located in Ukraine. It ...

. Following his ordination, Bychok spent time as a missionary at the Mother of Perpetual Help Church in

Prokopyevsk Prokopyevsk ( rus, Прокопьевск, p=prɐˈkopʲjɪfsk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. Population: History It was founded in 1918 as the settlement of Prokopyevsky () from the existing vill ...

, Russia. He later served as the superior of Saint Joseph's Redemptorists Monastery and pastor of the Mother Parish of Perpetual Help in

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

, Ukraine. From 2015 to 2020 Bychok served as the vicar of the Ukrainian Catholic parish of Saint John the Baptist in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, US, part of the Archieparchy of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians. Coat of arms of Mykola Bychok

On 15 January 2020, he was appointed by

as the eparchial bishop of the

Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne The Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Australia. Headquartered in Melbourne, it is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the ...

, succeeding

Peter Stasiuk Bishop Peter Stasiuk, C.Ss.R. (; born 16 July 1943 in Roblin, Manitoba, Canada) is an Australian Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarch. He served as the second Eparchial Bishop of Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne f ...

. The eparchy's jurisdiction comprises Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania. On 7 June 2020, the feast of

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

in the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

used by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church at the time, he was consecrated as bishop by Major Archbishop

Sviatoslav Shevchuk Sviatoslav Shevchuk (; born 5 May 1970 in Stryi, Ukrainian SSR) is a Catholic Church in Ukraine, Ukrainian Catholic prelate who has served as the Ukrainian Catholic Major Archeparchy of Kyiv–Galicia, Major Archbishop of Kyiv–Galicia and P ...

and other hierarchs of the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

in St. George's Cathedral, Lviv. On 6 October 2024,

announced that he planned to make Bychok a

; on 7 December 2024 he was made a

cardinal priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

, of Santa Sofia a Via Boccea. In place of the red

biretta The biretta () is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three-peaked biretta is worn by Christian clergy, especially Catholic Church hierarchy, Roman Catholic clergy, as well as some ...

given to new cardinals of the Latin rite, Francis placed a black koukoulion with a red trim, the typical Ukrainian monastic headdress, on Bychok's head. Bychok became the youngest member of the

, the seventh cardinal from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and the third cardinal from the Ternopil region. A cardinal elector at the

, and Australia's sole representative, he lightly joked afterwards that being shut off from the world for an extended time was the highlight of his life: "Just try … try to turn off your phone at least for 24 hours – my phone was turned off for two and a half days" and nothing like the film ''

Conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

'', which did not depict prayer.

Honours

* : Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Saint John

Notes

References

External links

Ukrainian Catholic Church, Eparchy of Sts. Peter and Paul of Melbourne

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bychok, Mykola 1980 births Living people People from Ternopil Redemptorist cardinals Ukrainian Eastern Catholics Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Eastern Catholic bishops in Oceania Ukrainian emigrants to Australia Ukrainian emigrants to the United States Cardinals created by Pope Francis Australian cardinals Ukrainian cardinals

Biography

Honours

See also

Notes

References

External links