Husar among 44 prelates elevated to rank of cardinal

ROME - Archbishop Major Lubomyr Husar of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church was one of 44 prelates elevated to the rank of cardinal during an outdoor ceremony on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica on February 21.

Pope John Paul II led the ceremony installing the largest group ever of new princes of the Catholic Church, representing 27 countries on five continents.

Archbishop Major Husar was among three cardinals from Eastern Rite Churches who chose not to don the red biretta that is a symbol of a cardinal's rank in the Catholic Church. Instead, Cardinal Husar wore the black cape and hood of his Studite Order.

More than 30,000 people were in St. Peter's Square for the ceremony; millions watched television broadcasts around the world. (The Weekly will publish an exclusive report from Rome on the elevation of Cardinal Husar in an upcoming issue.)

The new Ukrainian cardinal was born in Lviv, Ukraine, in 1933. His family fled the country in 1944 and emigrated to the United States. In 1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Bishop Husar returned to Ukraine, where he served as exarch of Kyiv-Vyshhorod and then as auxiliary bishop to the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky. After the death of Cardinal Lubachivsky in December 2000, Bishop Husar was appointed apostolic administrator of the Lviv Archeparchy.

On January 25 he was elected by the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church as major archbishop, and three days later he was enthroned in ceremonies at St. George Cathedral in Lviv. That same day it was announced that Pope John Paul II had named the Ukrainian primate a cardinal. He is the sixth Ukrainian hierarch to be named to the College of Cardinals.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 25, 2001, No. 8, Vol. LXIX

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