Pope appoints Bishop of the Parma Greek Catholic Eparchy in the USA

On Thursday, August 31, 2023, it was announced in the Vatican that Pope Francis had appointed the bishop of the Parma Greek Catholic Eparchy in the USA as the Most Reverend Father Robert Mark Pipta from the clergy of the Phoenix Eparchy of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, who was the former rector of the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Pittsburgh.

The mentioned eparchy is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Byzantine Rite in the USA, which originates from the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo. It became vacant after it was announced in the Vatican on January 23, 2023, that Pope Francis had appointed Bishop Milan Lach, S.J., as the bishop of the Parma Greek Catholic Eparchy in the USA. Bishop Lach served as an auxiliary bishop of the Bratislava Greek Catholic Eparchy in Slovakia.

Background: Bishop-elect Robert Mark Pipta was born on April 7, 1967, in California. After studying at the University of California, he entered the Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Pittsburgh in 1990. Upon completing his theological studies in 1994, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Eparchy of the Holy Protection of the Mother of God in Phoenix. He served in various ministries, and in 2014, he became the rector of the Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius.