Bishop Joseph (Milan) paid a pastoral visit to Ukrainian Greek-Catholics in Romania

On February 22-24, 2013, the head of UGCC Pastoral-Mission Department (PMD), Bishop Joseph Milan, paid a pastoral visit to Ukrainian Greek-Catholics in Romania.  The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic parishes there are united in two deaconates – Bukovyna and Transcarpathia. There are also two parishes in the Banat region.  For Ukrainian Greek-Catholics, there is a General Vicariate within the Rumanian Greek-Catholic Eparchy. Since 2012, Bishop Mykhailo Dubovych has served as the General Vicar.

During the meetings in the first two days of the visit to the town of Sihet, there were presentations on the UGCC Strategy of Development until 2020 for priests and deacons of both deaconates.   First of all, Bishop Joseph greeted the pastors and expressed his joy at being able to meet them.  The PMD Head passed on to the clergy the greetings of His Beatitude Sviatoslav and his desire to have all the Ukrainian Greek-Catholics be present at all-Church gatherings, especially at the All-Ukrainian Pilgrimage to Kyiv.

On Sunday, the Bishop celebrated a Pontifical Liturgy with Rev. Mykhailo Dubovych and the clergy of the Transcarpathia deaconate in the UGCC parish in Krechunesht village.   The Divine Liturgy was also attended by neighboring parishioners.  At the gate, the bishop was greeted with the traditional bread and salt offered presented by children in Ukrainian embroidery and the pastor Rev. Yuriy Pituliak.

In his sermon, Bishop Joseph emphasized the need for “an authentically sincere prayer for the real unity with God and for becoming real children of the Heavenly Father.” After the Liturgy, the PMD Head voiced his gratitude to the priests and the parishioners for such warm hospitality.

PMD Press Service