Michael Joseph Dudick (February 24, 1916 – May 30, 2007) was an American

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and

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 Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the U.S. branch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church.

Biography

He was born to

Rusyn Rusyn may refer to: * Rusyns, Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyns, Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people ** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people ** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people * Rusyn l ...

immigrant parents in St. Clair, Pennsylvania and was educated in the public schools there. He attended Illinois Benedictine College and St. Procopius Seminary, both in

Lisle, Illinois Lisle ( ) is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,390 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the population was recorded to be 23,270. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Resea ...

, then was ordained to the priesthood on November 13, 1945 by Bishop Basil Takach at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cathedral in

Munhall, Pennsylvania Munhall is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, on the west bank of the Monongahela River, south of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers where the Ohio River begins. It abuts the borough of Homestead ...

. His many parish appointments include churches in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, and throughout

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

. When the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic was established in 1963, Dudick was appointed its first chancellor.

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

conferred upon him the rank of Right Reverend

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

on October 25, 1963. He was ordained a bishop and enthroned on October 24, 1968 as the second bishop of

Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic The Eparchy of Passaic ( la, Eparchia Passaicensis Ruthenorum) is a Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in the eastern United States. Its headquarters are at 445 Lackawanna Avenue, Woodland ...

in St. Michael Cathedral there. Thirty-two new parishes and missions were created during his tenure and two monasteries were established: the Basilian Fathers of Mariapoch in

Matawan, New Jersey Matawan is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A historic community located near the Raritan Bay in the much larger Raritan Valley region, the borough is a commuter town of New York City within the New York Metropol ...

and the

Byzantine Discalced Carmelites The Byzantine Discalced Carmelites are communities of Discalced Carmelites that operate in several Eastern Catholic Churches, namely the Bulgarian Byzantine Catholic Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, t ...

in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania. He also constructed a new Eparchial Center in

Woodland Park, New Jersey Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson) is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 13,484. What is now Woodland Park was formed as a borough under the name West P ...

and a spiritual and recreational Center, Carpathian Village, in northeastern Pennsylvania. He established the Heritage Institute Museum and Library in 1972, which houses a collection of religious and secular paintings, ecclesiastical art, vestments, national dress, embroideries, folk art and other memorabilia. The Institute's library features a collection of rare Slavonic books and manuscripts.. Dudick also served as a member of the

Congregation for the Oriental Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...

and as a member of the Committee for the Revision of Eastern Canon Law. He chaired the Eastern Catholic Bishops Association as well as a member on the Inter-Rite Committee and the Ecumenical Committee, both of the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

. He also served on the Board of Overseers for

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and on the Board of Regents of

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the ...

. Dudick retired as bishop in 1995. He died at age 91 in 2007. He is buried in the cemetery of Mount Saint Macrina Monastery in

Uniontown, Pennsylvania Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh Region. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census, down from 12,422 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and ...

References

External links

His Grace Michael J. Dudick - The Carpathian Connection

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudick, Michael 1916 births 2007 deaths People from St. Clair, Pennsylvania Ruthenian Catholic bishops American people of Rusyn descent Benedictine University alumni American Eastern Catholic bishops Seton Hall University people Members of the Harvard Board of Overseers 20th-century American clergy 20th-century American academics

Biography

See also

References

External links