Pope Francis appointed Bishop Mykola Petro Luchok, OP, the former Apostolic Administrator sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of the Diocese of Mukachevo in Ukraine, as the bishop ordinary of this church territory on Saturday, October 7, 2023.
The Vatican Radio made this announcement.
Bishop Mykola Luchok was born on March 26, 1974, in Mukachevo. In 1994, he entered the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), where he made his perpetual vows in 2000. He received his theological education at the Dominican philosophical-theological college in Krakow, Poland. After being ordained as a priest on June 24, 2003, Father Mykola served as a pastor in Yalta, St. Petersburg, Chortkiv, Lviv, and Khmelnytsky. In July 2018, he became the head of the community in Lviv.
On November 11, 2019, it was announced in the Vatican that Pope Francis had appointed him as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Mukachevo of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine. On January 28, 2022, it was reported in the Vatican that Pope Francis had accepted the resignation submitted by Most Reverend Antal Maynek, O.F.M., the bishop of the Diocese of Mukachevo, and appointed Bishop Mykola Luchok as the Apostolic Administrator sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis (until recalled by the Holy See).
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mukachevo is part of the Latin rite Metropolia of Lviv and encompasses parishes and structures in the Transcarpathian region. Pope John Paul II established the Apostolic Administration of Transcarpathian in 1993, appointing Archbishop Antonio Franco, then the Apostolic Nuncio, as its Apostolic Administrator. His successor in 1997 was Bishop Antal Maynek, who was also appointed as an auxiliary bishop at the end of 1995. After Saint John Paul II created the Diocese of Mukachevo on March 27, 2002, Bishop Antal became its first ordinary.