On August 24, 2023, the press service of the Holy See announced that Pope Francis, blessing the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), has appointed Father Michael Kwiatkowski as the ruling bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of New Westminster, located in Western Canada.
This information was reported by the Information Department of the UGCC.
Father Michael Kwiatkowski, who was previously the chancellor of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg, will become the fourth bishop for Ukrainian Greek Catholics in the province of British Columbia and Yukon since the establishment of the New Westminster Eparchy in 1974.
Details about the episcopal ordination and enthronement will be announced later.
Biographical note
Bishop-nominee Michael Kwiatkowski was born on November 21, 1961, in Hamiota, Manitoba. He was the third of seven children in the family of Edward Kwiatkowski and Phyllis Zemlak. He completed his partial high school education in Brandon and his full high school education at St. Vladimir's College and St. Josaphat's Minor Seminary in Roblin, Manitoba. While pursuing university studies and working simultaneously, he entered the seminary on September 7, 1980. He lived at the Ukrainian Pontifical College of St. Josaphat in Rome and studied at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), where he earned bachelor's degrees in philosophy (1980-1982) and theology (1982-1985).
On September 14, 1985, in Roblin, Manitoba, Metropolitan Maxim Hermaniuk ordained him a deacon. He received priestly ordination on July 28, 1986. After serving as a clergyman at the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Winnipeg, he returned to Rome to study canon law at the Oriental Institute, where he earned a doctorate.
From 1996 to 2006, during a period when the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was strengthening after years of underground existence, Bishop-nominee Michael Kwiatkowski lived in Ukraine. He served as the chancellor of the Patriarchal Curia, a judge, and the head of the Supreme Archbishop's Tribunal. He was also the vice-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, where he taught canon law and led the pastoral department for 6 years.
Upon returning to Canada, he was appointed a spiritual director at the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Seminary of the Holy Spirit in Ottawa (2006-2010).
From 2010 to 2021, he served in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish of the Holy Eucharist, and from 2021 until now, he has been the pastor of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Winnipeg. He served on committees for pro-life and penitential matters organized by the Roman Catholic Archdioceses of Winnipeg and the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg. He also served as a chaplain of the Knights of Columbus in the province of Manitoba (2016-2019).
Since August 1, 2014, and up to the present, Bishop-nominee Michael Kwiatkowski has served as the chancellor of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg. He has represented the Winnipeg Archeparchy in the Pastoral Council of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church since its establishment in 2019.