Pope Names Priest as New Auxiliary Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia

WASHINGTON—PopeFrancis has named Father Andriy Rabiy as auxiliary bishop of the UkrainianCatholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia. Father Rabiy, 41, currently serves as vicargeneral of the archeparchy and as pastor of the Nativity of the Blessed VirginMary Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Theappointment was publicized in Washington, August 8, by Msgr. Walter Erbì,Chargé d' Affaires, at the Apostolic Nunciature to the United States.

AndriyRabiy was born October 1, 1975 in Lviv, Ukraine. He pursued seminary studies atSt. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Seminary in Washington, D.C., and was ordaineda priest in 2001.

Bishop-electRabiy holds a bachelor degree in philosophy (1999) and a licentiate in CanonLaw (2008) from Catholic University of America; and a master of divinity degree(2002), from the Dominican House of Studies, in Washington D.C.

Afterordination, Bishop-elect Rabiy held pastoral assignments at St. Michael theArchangel parish, Hillsborough, New Jersey, and at the Nativity of the BlessedVirgin Mary, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2002-2005. Other assignments afterordination include: pastor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary UkrainianCatholic Parish in Reading, 2008-present; coordinator, Sexual Abuse Preventionand Youth Protection Office, 2008-2015; member, Administrative Board,Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, 2008-present; vicar general, 2009-present;vice-chancellor, 2009-present; member, Archeparchial College of Consultors,2009-present; member, Archeparchial Presbyteral Council, 2011-present.

TheUkrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia includes the District ofColumbia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and parts of easternPennsylvania. It has a total Catholic population of 13,051. Archbishop StefanSokora has been the archbishop since 2001. The archeparchy currently hasanother auxiliary bishop, Bishop John Bura.

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Keywords: bishop appointment, PopeFrancis, bishop-elect, Andriy Rabiy, auxiliary, Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchyof Philadelphia, Archbishop Stefan Sokora, Bishop John Bura

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