Ukrainian can become Pope — Who is Mykola Bychok
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The youngest participant in the upcoming papal conclave, Cardinal Mykola Bychok, will represent Australia as its sole delegate to Rome. Bychok is of Ukrainian descent. In December last year, at the age of 44, he became the youngest bishop to be named a cardinal.
Read everything you need to know about Mykola Bychok in the Novyny.LIVE article.
Who is Mykola Bychok
Mykola Bychok was born in 1980 in Ternopil, Ukraine. As a teenager, he joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, where he received his spiritual and theological education in Ukraine and Poland, obtaining a license in pastoral theology.
In 2003, he took lifelong vows and was ordained a priest in 2005.
Mykola Bychok served in Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukraine), then in the United States, and in 2020 was appointed Bishop of the Eparchy of Sts. Peter and Paul in Melbourne of the UGCC in Australia. His consecration took place in Lviv.
In December 2024, Mykola Bychok was officially consecrated Cardinal-Presbyter of St. Sophia. He became the seventh cardinal in the history of the UGCC.
Mykola Bychok's position
Bychok paid tribute to Francis on Monday, saying that he is a pope "for the marginalized and those on the periphery".
"He was a man of simple piety who sought to bring the church closer to the people," Bychok wrote.
Bychok also mentioned Francis's fight against sexual abuse in the Church, emphasized his efforts to continue the work of Pope Benedict XVI, but noted that more needs to be done.
"Pope Francis has apologized to survivors of abuse and introduced simpler procedures to deal with perpetrators. He introduced a culture of protection for the most vulnerable. A work that must continue in the future," he wrote.
Mykola Bychok will take part in the election of the next Pope, representing not only Ukraine but also the Australian Catholic people.
On Monday, April 21, Pope Francis died at the age of 88.
Also, the Pope will be buried not in the Vatican, as is usually the case, but in the Roman Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
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