The death of Pope Francis at the age of 88 has marked the beginning of preparations for the conclave—the assembly of cardinals to elect a new pontiff. Among the 135 electors who will choose the successor will be Mykola Bychok, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic eparchy in Australia.
Mykola Bychok, born in 1980 in Ternopil, is one of the youngest cardinals in the Catholic Church. He studied theology in Ukraine and Poland and was ordained a priest in Lviv in 2005. Over the years, he served as a parish priest in Ivano-Frankivsk, worked in the U.S., and in 2024, Pope Francis elevated him to the rank of cardinal. He currently serves at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Melbourne.
Cardinal Bychok is known for his open support of Ukraine in the conflict with Russia. In particular, he displayed a Ukrainian flag in church bearing the names of Donbas settlements where fighting took place in 2014–2015. The flag featured cities such as Avdiivka, Donetsk, and Krasnohorivka, along with the dates of battles.
Photos published by Ukrainian organizations in Australia show Bychok smiling as he holds the flag, and on social media, he accompanied the image with comments about the “heroism of Ukrainian soldiers.” Another photo shows him standing next to a woman wearing a T-shirt with an anti-Russian slogan calling for funding the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The conclave must begin within 20 days of the Pope’s death. To be elected, a candidate must secure the support of at least two-thirds of the cardinals. Bychok’s participation in the process has drawn attention, given his political stance.
It remains to be seen how his views may influence the course of the election and the future of the Catholic Church.
