Rome, Italy, Mar 30, 2011 / 07:55 am
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, newly enthroned as the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church on March 29, will discuss the possible restoration of his church's historic status as a patriarchate with Pope Benedict XVI during his upcoming visit to the Vatican.
“A patriarchate is a period in the completion of the development of a church,” he explained to reporters in Kyiv before his departure for the Vatican. He said that the delegation would discuss the development of the Ukrainian Catholic Church that has taken place since its 1989 re-emergence into public life. “I will give the evidence of our maturity to the Pope,” he stated.
The Ukrainian Catholic Church's Synod of Bishop chose the 40-year-old Archbishop Shevchuk as their new leader on March 27. His predecessor, 77-year-old Cardinal Archbishop Lubomyr Husar, retired for health reasons on Feb. 10.
Archbishop Shevchuk's youth, and his prior position as a bishop of a Ukrainian Catholic eparchy in Argentina from 2009 until 2011, made him an unusual choice to succeed Cardinal Husar. His previous appointments included positions at Lviv's Holy Spirit Theological Seminary as well as the Ukrainian Catholic University. He also served as Cardinal Husar's personal secretary from 2002 to 2005.