Mourners reflect on archbishop's life (05/19/96)

Mourners reflect on archbishop's life

by Frank Guly and Christopher Guly

WINNIPEG - After 45 years in Winnipeg, Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan-Emeritus Maxim Hermaniuk was an institution. When he died on May 3, many of his friends and colleagues were startled, as Bishop-designate Stefan Soroka said, out of thinking "Metropolitan Maxim would live forever."

Some shared their reflections on Archbishop Hermaniuk's life and career.

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"I will remember him a thousand different ways. He was a man of much talent - perhaps small in stature but not in wisdom and experience. He was much larger than life in terms of his influence. He was a man of collegiality and ecumenism whose influence at the Second Vatican Council hasn't yet been fully appreciated." - Winnipeg's Archbishop Michael Bzdel, metropolitan of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada.

"He was a very nice man - one of the nicest Church leaders I have ever worked with. Well-educated, it was always a pleasure to work with him. He was most respected in Canada and Ukraine." - Winnipeg's Archbishop Wasyly Fedak, metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.

"He was an outstanding Canadian bishop, not only at the national level but at the Second Vatican Council and future synods." - Archbishop Francis Spence of Kingston, Ontario, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB).

"He was a dedicated churchman who cared for his people and was sensitive to their needs. His great life inspired his people and his Church." - Saskatoon's Bishop Cornelius Pasichny.

"Through the death of Metropolitan Hermaniuk, the Canadian Church has lost one of its wisest men. His wisdom was not only manifested in all situations, and grounded in his love for [Jesus] and the Gospels, but also in his position at the Second Vatican Council. He was one of [its] last witnesses. This man was a blessing to the Church, not just of the Ukrainian rite, but the whole Church." - Ottawa's Archbishop Marcel Gervais, a past-president of the CCCB.

"He loved his Church and the Ukrainian people, and was recognized and respected by all for this. Truly, he was a man for all seasons in our Ukrainian Church. To the sisters, he was a spiritual advisor and friend, and always very supportive. He knew how to give encouragement, show interest and bring out the best in people. He will be dearly missed." - Sister Janice Soluk, provincial superior of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate in Canada.

"He was small in stature, but large in heart with excellent wisdom for people from all walks of life." - Dr. Bronislaw Gorski, friend and Winnipeg physician.

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