Catholic Church: Youngest Cardinal in the world is 44 years old and was created by Pope Francis

Among the cardinals created yesterday by Pope Francis, stands out Cardinal Mykola Bychok, bishop of the Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne for Ukrainian Catholics in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania, who at only 44 years old has become the youngest cardinal in the world. We tell you, among other things, why their clothing is different.

He website of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Australia explains, first of all, that the new cardinal belongs to an Eastern rite church, which is why he wore “a purple robe according to the ancient kyiv tradition” that is, according to the tradition of Eastern Christian monks , “adorned with embroidered images of Saints Peter and Paul.”

“On his head he wore a koukoul (o koukoulion) black according to the Ukrainian monastic tradition, in the style of the Union of Brest of the 17th century and adorned with a thin red border,” he adds.

The new cardinal, who, because he is 44 years old and under 80, is an elector for an eventual conclave that elects the new Pope, also had on his chest a medallion in which there was a beautiful image of the Virgin Mary.

During the ceremony, Pope Francis placed the corresponding skullcap and red cap on all the cardinals, while Cardinal Bychok placed the koukoulion on his head.

The Union of Brest or Union of Brześć was the decision that the Metropolitan of kyiv made in 1596, to break his dependence on the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople and enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, under the authority of the Pope in Rome.

Eastern rites in the Catholic Church and the Ukrainian rite

He website of Ukrainian Catholics in Australia explains that “the Ukrainian Catholic Church (UCC) is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Apostolic See.”

“With more than 5.5 million faithful, it is the largest of the twenty-three Eastern Churches of the world Catholic community, the second in number after the Latin Church (Roman Catholic). The UCC is headed by the Major Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych, His Beatitude Sviatoslav (Shevchuk).”

This church has “its own rite, which originates in the Constantinopolitan tradition, and preserves its liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary heritage in the cultural and historical circumstances of its people.”

The rite to which the majority of Catholics in the Western world belong is the Latin one.

“Ukraine is in my heart”

“We have a special title in the Church, but we must remember who we are: human beings, dependent on God,” said the new cardinal after the consistory held yesterday, according to reports Vatican News.

After commenting that he does not forget his native country, now ravaged by war, the 44-year-old cardinal affirms: “I am a bishop in Australia, a cardinal of the universal Church, but Ukraine is in my heart,” and asks for prayers for the Ukrainians.

Who is the youngest cardinal in the world?

Mykola Bychok CSR, is the youngest cardinal in the world. He was born on February 13, 1980 in Ternopil (Ukraine). He was ordained a priest in 2005.

In 2020 he was appointed Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne. On June 7, 2020, the feast of Pentecost according to the Julian calendar, he was consecrated bishop in St. George’s Cathedral, Lviv.

Its episcopal motto is Пресвятая Богородице, спаси нас (Holy Mother of God, save us). Yesterday he received the title of S. Sofia in Via Boccea.