Pope Francis has proclaimed His Grace Mykola Bychok CSsR, 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.

On receiving the news of his appointment which was announced on Sunday, October 6, Cardinal-designate 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—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.

*Cardinal-designate Mykola Bychok CSsR (ACBC/Giovanni Portelli Photography)*

“I understand how much responsibility this appointment entrusts to me,’ Cardinal-designate Mykola said. ‘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.”

Cardinal-designate Mykola reflected on the legacies of his predecessor Cardinals, Patriarch Josyf Cardinal Slipyj, Myroslav Cardinal Lubachivsky and His Beatitude Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, who became the voices of the Ukrainian-Greek Catholic Church in the free world and who helped the Church transition from persecution to freedom.

“I will endeavour to follow their worthy examples,” he said.

“This is also a great responsibility to the Catholic Church in Australia, where faith is gradually being lost and secularisation is spreading. I ask the Lord to guide me in responding to these challenges with strength and dignity.”

As the newly appointed Cardinal awaits further information on the formal conferral of this honour, he has asked for prayers, “So that the Lord may give me the strength and courage to fulfil the vocation entrusted to me by the Holy Church!”

This article was published in Melbourne Catholic, the e-publication of the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

Read more on the appointment from Cardinal-Designate Bychock’s media conference.