Walter Paska (November 29, 1923 – August 16, 2008) was a

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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He served as the Auxiliary Bishop of

Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or archeparchy of the Catholic Church in the Eastern United States. Its episcopal see is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Archepa ...

from 1992 to 2000.

Early life and education

Born in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

, Wolodymyr Walter Paska was educated at St. Basil College Seminary in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

, and St. Charles Seminary in

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of th ...

. He was ordained a priest for the Archeparchy of Philadelphia on June 2, 1947. He went on to earn a master's degree in medieval English literature from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in 1952 and a

doctorate in canon law Doctor of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Doctor, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD ...

from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

School of Canon Law The School of Canon Law is the only faculty of Catholic canon law in the United States. It is one of the twelve schools at The Catholic University of America, located in Washington, D.C.Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

; Elizabeth, New Jersey;

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead, New York, North Hempstead and Oys ...

; Stamford, Connecticut;

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

;

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census.

, and

Williamstown, New Jersey Williamstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Monroe Township in Gloucester County, New Jersey.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, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

named Paska a

Prelate of Honor A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.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 ...

in 1963. He served as the first

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

and

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the Eparchy of St. Nicholas in Chicago from 1969 to 1971. From 1975 to 1978 he was a professor of

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

School of Canon Law The School of Canon Law is the only faculty of Catholic canon law in the United States. It is one of the twelve schools at The Catholic University of America, located in Washington, D.C.rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

at St. Josaphat Seminary in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

During these years Paska also served the archeparchy as

judicial vicar In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official ( la, links=no, officialis) is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court. Although the diocesan bishop can reserv ...

and vocations director.

Auxiliary Bishop

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 Paska as the

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Tigillava'' and Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia (Ukrainian) on January 24, 1992. He was ordained a bishop by Archbishop

Stephen Sulyk Stephen Sulyk ( uk, Стефа́н Су́лик; October 2, 1924 – April 6, 2020) was a Ukrainian-American hierarch who was an archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He died from complications brought on by COVID-19 during the C ...

on March 19, 1992. The principal co-consecrators were Bishops

Innocent Lotocky Innocent Lotocky O.S.B.M (November 3, 1915 – July 4, 2013) was an American Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Prior to his consecration as bishop, he served for many years as pastor of Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church i ...

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 ...

of Chicago and

Basil H. Losten Basil Harry Losten (born May 11, 1930) is a bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He is currently Bishop Emeritus of the Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of Stamford, Connecticut. He was succeeded by Bishop Paul Patrick Chomnycky. Educat ...

of the Stamford. Paska served as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception 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 ...

from 1992 to 2001. His resignation as auxiliary bishop was accepted on November 29, 2000.

Later life and death

After his resignation was accepted, Paska continued to review canon law cases and acted as the defender of the bond of the metropolitan tribunal. He died from complications of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

at AristaCare in

Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania Plymouth Meeting is a census-designated place (CDP) that straddles Plymouth Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Plymouth and Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania, Whitemarsh Townships in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Penns ...

, on August 16, 2008, at the age of 84. His funeral was celebrated at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and he was buried at Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery in

Langhorne, Pennsylvania Langhorne Borough is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,622 at the time of the 2010 census. The mailing address "Langhorne" is used for Langhorne Borough, but it is also used broadly to describe the majority of surrou ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paska, Wolodymyr 1923 births 2008 deaths People from Elizabeth, New Jersey Fordham University alumni Catholic University of America alumni Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church American Eastern Catholic bishops 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops People from Catonsville, Maryland Catholic University of America School of Canon Law alumni Canon law jurists Eastern Catholic canon law jurists 20th-century American clergy