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!”
Source: https://catholicukes.au/data/bishop-mykola-bychok-cardinal-of-the-catholic-church-285/
Bishop Mykola Bychok — Cardinal of the Catholic Church
On Saturday, December 7, 2024, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, His Grace Bishop Mykola Bychok, Eparch of the Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne for Ukrainian Catholics in Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania, was elevated to the dignity of Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church by His Holiness Pope Francis.
The ceremony took place in St. Peter’s Basilica and began with a short prayer and a reading from the Gospel of Mark. In this passage, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, ask Jesus to allow them to sit at His right and left in His glory. Then Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42–45).
Following the Gospel reading, Pope Francis delivered a homily, emphasising that the cardinal’s ministry must have Jesus Christ and His teachings as its centre, foundation, and primary focus.
After the homily, the formal ceremony of creating the new cardinals began. Pope Francis declared: “Dear brothers and sisters, we are about to carry out an agreeable and solemn task of our sacred ministry. It chiefly concerns the Church of Rome, but it also affects the entire ecclesial community: we will call certain of our brethren to enter the College of Cardinals, so that they may be united to the Chair of Peter by a closer bond our apostolic ministry. Having been invested with the sacred purple, they are to be fearless witnesses to Christ and his Gospel in the City of Rome and in faraway regions. Therefore, by the authority of almighty God, of Saints Peter and Paul and our Own, we create and solemnly proclaim Cardinals of Holy Roman Church these brothers of ours.” He then read the names of the newly proclaimed cardinals.
The new cardinals recited the Profession of faith and took an oath of fidelity, pledging to remain faithful to Christ and His Gospel for the rest of their lives. They also promised to remain obedient to the Holy Apostolic Roman Church and the Holy Father and to join the ranks of the Roman clergy, working closely with Pope Francis and his canonical successors.
Each cardinal received a scarlet biretta, symbolising the dignity of the cardinalate and their readiness to defend the Christian faith with courage, even to the point of martyrdom. They also received a cardinal’s ring, signifying their love for the Church, which is strengthened by the love of the Prince of the Apostles. Additionally, each cardinal was assigned with the title/deaconry of titular church in honour of Almighty God and Saints Peter and Paul. Bishop Mykola received the title of Basilica of Santa Sofia, which will now be his cardinal seat in Rome.
It is worth noting that, as Bishop Mykola belongs to the Eastern Catholic Church, his vestments differed somewhat from the traditional attire of the other cardinals. He wore a purple robe in the old Kyivan tradition, adorned with embroidered images of Saints Peter and Paul. On his head, he wore a black koukoul in accordance with Ukrainian monastic tradition, styled after the 17th-century Brest Union and trimmed with a thin red border.
On this day, in addition to Bishop Mykola Bychok, 20 new cardinals were created.
As part of the Consistory for the Proclamation of New Cardinals, there is a tradition known as a “courtesy visit” to the new cardinals. Immediately after the Consistory, clergy and faithful from around the world who had come to Rome to share in this joyous event with Bishop Mykola had the opportunity to meet the newly proclaimed cardinal in the Hall of Blessing (Aula della Benedizione), located at the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica.
