PHILADELPHIA (OSV News) — During his Sept. 13-15 visit to Philadelphia, Cardinal Mykola Bychok of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Sts. Peter and Paul in Melbourne, Australia — at age 45, the Catholic Church’s youngest cardinal — sat down with OSV News to share his thoughts on hope, war, his time in Russia, and the church in Australia.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
OSV News: When you spoke to the faithful after your Sept. 14 Divine Liturgy in Philadelphia, you described the papal conclave as a time filled with “peace” and “blessedness.” How so?
Cardinal Bychok: The conclave is not similar to the election of a president, of a prime minister, or whatever (other kind of leader) from our human experience.
Actually, the main person in the conclave is the Holy Spirit. We cardinals are only the hands of the Holy Spirit.
So for that reason — yes, I am the youngest cardinal in the world, and this, my first conclave, happened too rapidly (for me) after my appointment — I felt a huge work of the Holy Spirit during the conclave.
‘Most blessed time of my life’
It was peaceful. It was the most blessed time of my life — not only because I participated in the conclave, but also because I was actually without connection with the world for two and a half days. It was very good to be in straight connection with God, to pray, to dedicate my time during the conclave to what is happening.
I saw the work of the Holy Spirit from the first round of election to the final one. It was an unforgettable experience, especially sitting in the Sistine Chapel, looking at the scene of the Last Judgment.
During the conclave, many cardinals hold rosaries in their hands. They prayed. … One day, I prayed 12 rosaries.
A newly elected pope (now, Pope Leo XIV) needs a lot of prayer, a lot of spiritual support, to lead the Catholic Church worldwide.
‘Real conclave not the same as the movie’
That was one mistake of the filmmakers (of the movie “Conclave”), because actually just only one time (in the film), one cardinal blessed food, or something like that, to show prayer. … The real conclave is not the same as this movie.
OSV News: During your dialogue session after Divine Liturgy, one gentleman was particularly overcome with emotion due to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which began in 2014 and is now set to reach the 12-year mark — all as U.S. support for Ukraine fades under the Trump administration. How do you, as a shepherd, minister to people so weary in body, mind and spirit, people of faith who don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel?
Cardinal Bychok: That question came from my former parishioner (in the U.S.). I know him very well; I know the story of his life.
Many people in Ukraine are suffering. Sometimes it’s difficult to explain to those who have lost their children, or whole families.
You should be close to them. You should listen to them. You should take part in their life. You should support them, and not only in a spiritual way, but sometimes in a psychological way.
‘Many people right now are wounded’
You should be close to them, because many people right now are wounded, not only in Ukraine.
Outside of Ukraine, I have met a few Australians who can’t sleep since the beginning of the war, because for them it’s difficult to understand what is going on in the 21st century, where the whole world is looking for this war — and it can’t stop, or it doesn’t want to stop.
It’s a tricky question, but actually this Jubilee Year is a very important year for the reason that Pope Francis appointed this year as the “Year of Hope.”
Hope never disappoints. It’s very important not to lose hope, this Christian virtue which is the foundation, and which accompanies together with faith and love.
By suffering, ‘we are saving our souls’
We should remember that actually God himself suffered, and we should follow him. We should suffer as well, because by this we are saving our souls.
It was very symbolic yesterday (Sept. 14), because it was the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, when we can approach the Holy Cross, bow, kiss this Holy Cross, and remember that actually someone who is the Lord Jesus Christ gave up his life for our salvation.
OSV News: You served in Russia about two decades ago. We in the West know so little about Russian Catholics, due to the legacy of communism and, more recently, due to the increasing crackdown on religious and other freedoms under the Putin regime. What was it like to minister there?
Cardinal Bychok: I initially spent about two months as a deacon in Siberia, and my first reaction on arriving was, “I departed in the 21st century and landed in the 19th century.”
People ‘deep’ in Russia ‘have a miserable life’
Those who live in Moscow or in St. Petersburg are in rich cities, but it’s completely another situation when you go deep into the country (of Russia). People have a miserable life. They are struggling; they are poor.
In 1947, many Ukrainians were forcibly moved (under Russian dictator Joseph Stalin) from the western part of Ukraine to Siberia, to the gulags, just for one reason only — because they weren’t obedient to the communist regime; they believed in God. So for that reason they were punished by the regime.
I ministered in the city of Prokopyevsk, in the western part of Siberia. Generally people there are completely dependent on the coal mining industry. One of our Redemptorist priests joined these people in 1958. He accompanied them; he tried his best spiritually to support our people in this completely different land from Ukraine. A majority of those (forcibly relocated) people died on their way, because the duration of the trip was up to three months. So, those people there have been wounded as well. Many people were punished, persecuted, especially bishops, priests, religious. Prayer services were held in secret, especially during the night.
Ministering in Siberia
So, that was the beginning of my time in Siberia. Then, after my ordination as a priest in 2005, I was asked by the (Redemptorist) father provincial to go to Siberia to replace one of our fathers, who had spent almost 30 years ministering there. I agreed, because after the end of the seminary, you have a spirit like, “I will convert the whole world! Until the end of the world, I will proclaim the word of God!” — which was really good.
In Prokopyevsk, we had our small church, which was the main church, and then we tried to reach our communities in the area of 300 km, driving around. Many of these prayer services took place in their private homes.
We tried our best to work with children, with youth, but it wasn’t easy. In Russia, we have the biggest migration of our (Ukrainian) people; it’s up to 4 million people. But because of (Russia’s historical) anti-Ukrainian movement and anti-cultural tradition, there was Russification. There was huge pressure from the communist regime. The first generation (of Ukrainians) who came here preserved faith, culture, tradition, as well as language. But the second generation, their children, completely lost that, because of the huge pressure from the communist regime.
OSV News: Was it pressure to convert to the Russian Orthodox Church?
Cardinal Bychok: No, it was pressure simply because they were Ukrainians, so they were expected to follow Russian rules. Ukraine wasn’t an independent country in those times; it was fully dependent on (and part of the former) Soviet Union.
‘We are trying to protect our homeland’
So, for that reason we are trying to protect our homeland right now. We are paying a huge cost in this war to protect our country, to protect our children.
We should remember this call from Our Lady of Fatima, to please pray, please use our rosaries, please pray for the conversion of Russia. Yes, we should pray as well for the conversion of Ukrainians, and yes, for conversion of the whole world, but at this stage, this evil is from Russia, so we should pray a lot to stop this war.
And not only to stop the war, but to get a just peace, which means that the occupier will be punished, and that we as the victim of the war will be justified. We experienced “simple” peace a few years ago — the first wave of this war began in 2014, and then it was frozen for a few years, and then after a few years, we had a full-scale invasion.
Dangerous for ‘the whole civilized world’
It’s very dangerous, not only for Ukraine, but I think for the whole civilized world. Because when agreements do not work, that’s really a huge challenge for the whole world. We are protecting not only our homeland, Ukraine, but we are protecting Europe as well.
OSV News: Recently we’ve seen some reports of growth in the Catholic Church in Australia. Are you seeing such a trend?
Cardinal Bychok: Yes and no. Australia is a very secular country, and faces many challenges. Many of its legislative bills are not close to Christianity or to Catholicity, so sometimes it’s difficult to deal with these bills and laws.
Yes, there is some explosion of the faith, but we should remember that actually Australia, like the U.S., is a country of migrants. We have a huge movement (influx) right now of people from Vietnam, from the Philippines, from India, as well from Lebanon, and Christians escaping Iraq. For that reason, we have in Australia five Eastern Catholic churches — Ukrainian, Syro-Malabar, Maronites, Melkites and Chaldeans. Many of their members have tried to escape persecution, and they are trying to maintain their faith in this new land, in Australia. I have met as well native Australians, holy people. In each country where I have ministered, I have met holy people, who are very dedicated to their community, to their values and they are a huge blessing for the Catholic Church.
Secular pressure on people of faith
So, we have some like explosion of the faith, but on the other hand, it is a huge challenge for people, because there is huge (secular) pressure, not only from the government, but as well from today’s world, social media, etc., which are not close to Christian ideas, the Ten Commandments.
OSV News: The motto of your order is “with him (the Lord) is plenteous redemption,” taken from Psalm 130 (129). How do you feel as a Redemptorist, looking at a world with — given the 20th and 21st centuries — conflict and suffering on a scale we’ve probably never seen in humanity?
Cardinal Bychok: Our founder is St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, the famous doctor of the church, especially in the moral theology. In the region of his native Naples, he saw in abundance not only those who were poor, but the spiritually poor. So that was the foundation to establish this new congregation, to deliver redemption through the Word of God, not only for those people who are facing some financial challenges, who are poor, but as well for those who are very rich, but are actually very poor spiritually.
‘My dream was to be a Redemptorist’
I was the happiest man in the world to be a Redemptorist. My dream was to be a Redemptorist, to be a missionary, full stop.
And then God corrected my plans a little bit and chose me in 2020 to be a bishop in the Ukrainian Catholic Church. I was sent to Australia and then almost one year ago I was appointed by the late Pope Francis to be a cardinal, which completely shocked me because that wasn’t my expectation and my dream. Sometimes it’s difficult to accept this call, but I feel support from on high, from the Holy Spirit. It’s not easy to be bishop or a cardinal in the secular world, especially in countries like Australia or the U.S., where the church is dealing with many sexual abuse cases.
Many people are wounded, but we should be like Jesus Christ. We should heal our people, we should convert ourselves and then, through our conversion, try to convert other people — to show them a real example of the loving God, which is Jesus Christ, our savior and our redeemer.
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.
