Mark Leonard Bartchak (born January 1, 1955) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

serving as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the

Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

in Pennsylvania since 2011.

Biography

Early life and education

Mark Bartchak was born on January 1, 1955, in Cleveland, Ohio, the fifth of eight children. He attended Catholic elementary and secondary schools, graduating in 1973 from Bradford Central Christian High School in

Bradford, Pennsylvania Bradford is a city in McKean County, Pennsylvania. It is located close to the border with New York state and approximately south of Buffalo, New York. Bradford is the principal city in the Bradford, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The popul ...

. Bartchak's college studies were at St. Mark Seminary and

Gannon University Gannon University is a private Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania. Gannon University has approximately 4,500 students and 46,000 alumni. Its intercollegiate athletics include 18 athletic programs for men and women competing at the NCAA D ...

in Erie, Pennsylvania. where he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in philosophy in 1977. He also studied at Christ the King Seminary in

East Aurora, New York East Aurora is a village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo. It lies in the eastern half of the town of Aurora. The village population was 5,998 per the 2020 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metr ...

, receiving a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in theology in 1981. Bartchak was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

at Christ the King Seminary on September 22, 1980, and then assigned as

at St. Joseph Parish in

Warren, Pennsylvania Warren is a city in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Allegheny River. The population was 9,404 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. It is home to the headquarters of the Allegheny National Fores ...

Ordination and ministry

Bartchak was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Erie on May 15, 1981, by Bishop Michael J. Murphy at St. Peter Cathedral in Erie. After his ordination, Bartchak was assigned as temporary

parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

at St. Joseph Parish. In August 1981, he was named parochial vicar at St. Francis Parish in

Clearfield, Pennsylvania Clearfield is a borough and the county seat of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 5,962 people, making it the second most populous community in Clearfield County, behind DuBois. The borough ...

. He also served as assistant principal and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

teacher at St. Francis High School in Clearfield and as part-time chaplain at the Clearfield Hospital. Bartchak was transferred to St. Leo Magnus Parish in

Ridgway, Pennsylvania Ridgway is a borough in and the county seat of Elk County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,078. History Ridgway was founded by Philadelphian shipping merchant Jacob Ridgway and James Gillis. Jacob Ridgway earned sub ...

, to serve as administrator of the parish for several months when the pastor became ill. He was then appointed parochial vicar at St. Leo Magnus. His duties included pastoral care at the Elk County General Hospital in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, and the Elk County Prison in Ridgway. In these early parish assignments he was active in local ecumenical clergy associations. He was a speaker at ecumenical and civic gatherings. In 1982, Bartchak was appointed as part-time

defender of the bond The defender of the bond ( la, defensor vinculi or ''defensor matrimonii'') is a Catholic Church official whose duty is to defend the marriage bond in the procedure prescribed for the hearing of matrimonial causes which involve the validity or ...

for the diocese and in 1986 he was assigned full-time to the diocesan tribunal. Bartchak then attended the Catholic University of America School of Canon Law in Washington, D.C., where he received a

Licentiate of Canon Law Licentiate of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Licentiatus; JCL) is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Licentiat ...

in 1989. During his time in Washington, Bartchak assisted as a

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a large minor Catholic basilica and national shrine in the United States in Washington, D.C., located at 400 Michigan Avenue Northeast, adjacent to Catholic University. ...

in Washington and at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In August 1991, Bartchak was assigned to reside at St. Stanislaus Parish in Erie and provide weekend pastoral assistance. He received a Doctor of Canon Law from Catholic University in 1992. That same year, Bartchak was appointed by Bishop

Donald Trautman Donald Walter Trautman (June 24, 1936 – February 26, 2022) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Erie in Western Pennsylvania from 1990 to 2011. He previously served as an auxiliary bish ...

as judicial vicar and director of the Office of Conciliation & Arbitration of the diocese. In 2000,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named Bartchak as chaplain to his holiness. In addition to these duties, he was named vicar for canonical affairs in 2004. Bartchak also served as an ex-officio member of the

presbyteral council A presbyteral council or council of priests is a group of priests chosen to assist the local ordinary in an advisory capacity in the governance of a Roman Catholic diocese. Canon 495 of the Code of Canon Law lays down that every diocese must have ...

, the administrative cabinet and various diocesan committees. He served on the planning committee for the establishment of the permanent diaconate formation program for the diocese. In 2004, Bartchak was appointed to the Administrative Board and the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. In 2007 he was appointed as a consultant for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance.

Handling of sexual abuse in Erie Diocese

A grand jury report published by Pennsylvania Attorney General

Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the Pennsylvania Attorney General since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the governor-elect of Pennsylvania. Raised in Montgomery ...

on August 14, 2018, criticized Bartchak for his investigation of William Presley, a priest in the Diocese of Erie from 1963 and 1986. The Vatican assigned Bartchak in 2005 to investigate allegations of sexual abuse against minors by Presley. Bartchak re-interviewed one male accuser who had sent accusations to the diocese in 1982, 1987 and 2002. On August 25, 2005, Bartchak sent a secret memo to Bishop Trautman with his findings on Presley. Parts of the memo read "I was not surprised to learn from other witnesses from the Elk County area that there are likely to be other victims" and that "it is likely that there may be others who were also of the age for the offenses to be considered delicts, but to what end is it necessary to follow every lead?" Trautman decided that it was "not likely that they will lead to information concerning delicts involving minors under 16 years of age," Bartchak wrote.

Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown

On January 14, 2011, Bartchak was appointed by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

as bishop of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown; Bartchak was consecrated bishop by Cardinal

Justin Rigali Justin Francis Rigali (born April 19, 1935) is an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the eighth Archbishop of Philadelphia, having previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1994 to 2003, and was elevated to the ca ...

on April 19, 2011. Pope Francis named Bartchak a member of the

Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additio ...

on June 21, 2021. On June 19, 2022, the diocese announced that Bartchak had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

, was experiencing mild symptoms, and was quarantining at home.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown Home Page

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartchak, Mark Leonard Religious leaders from Cleveland 1958 births Living people Catholic University of America School of Canon Law alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States