Richard Stephen Seminack (March 3, 1942 – August 16, 2016) was an American
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 ca ...
of the
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 ...
. He served as the fourth
eparch
Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on t ...
(bishop) of the
Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Nicholas of Chicago since 2003.
Biography
Richard Seminack was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
to Raymond and Anna (Cwiek) Seminack. He was the oldest of seven children.
He was educated at St. Martin of Tours Elementary School and Father Judge High School in Philadelphia. After attending seminary he was ordained a priest for the
Archeparchy of Philadelphia on May 25, 1967 by Archbishop
Ambrozij Andrew Senyshyn,
O.S.B.M.
The Order of Saint Basil the Great ( uk, Чин Святого Василія Великого, translit=Chyn Sviatoho Vasyliia Velykoho; la, Ordo Sancti Basilii Magni, abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is ...
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 Seminack as the eparch of St. Nicholas of Chicago on March 25, 2003. He was ordained a bishop by Cardinal
Lubomyr Husar
Lubomyr Husar MSU ( uk, Любомир Гузар, Liubomyr Huzar; 26 February 1933 – 31 May 2017) was the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the first elected in independent Ukraine. He was also a cardinal of the C ...
,
M.S.U., the
Major Archbishop
In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch of an autonomous (''sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major arch ...
of
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
on June 4, 2003. The principal co-consecrators were Archbishop
Stephen Soroka of Philadelphia and Bishop
Robert Mikhail Moskal of
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
.
He died from cancer in Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Hoffman Estates is a village in Illinois, United States. The village is located primarily in Cook County, with a small section in Kane County. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 52,530.
The village now serves a ...
on August 16, 2016.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seminack, Richard
1942 births
2016 deaths
Clergy from Philadelphia
Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
American Eastern Catholic bishops