The episcopal ordination of Father Michael Smolinski will take place in January in Saskatoon
The episcopal ordination of Fr. Michael Smolinski and his enthronement as the ruling bishop of the Saskatoon Eparchy of the UGCC will take place on January 19–21, 2024 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada). The service will be led by the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
Metropolitan Lawrence Huculak of Winnipeg, the current apostolic administrator of the vacant see of the Saskatoon Eparchy, and Bishop Bryan Bayda of Toronto, the previous ruling bishop of the eparchy, will be the concelebrants.
The rite of the episcopal naming and the Great Vespers, led by Bishop-nominee Michael, will begin on Friday, January 19, at 6:30 pm at the Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Saskatoon.
The hierarchical Divine Liturgy with the episcopal ordination of Fr. Michael will be held on Saturday, January 20, at 10:00 am in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, where the future bishop served as a parish priest for eight years.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav will perform the enthronement/installation of the sixth bishop of the Saskatoon Eparchy during the Liturgy at St. George’s Cathedral on Sunday, January 21, at 10:00 am.
We ask you to accompany Fr. Michael with prayer as he prepares to be ordained as a bishop and begin his new ministry in the Church.
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Ruling Bishop Appointed for Saskatoon Eparchy in Canada
On November 30, 2023, the Vatican announced that His Holiness Pope Francis, having blessed the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, appointed the Most Reverend Father Michael Smolinski, formerly the Provincial Superior of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer in Canada, as the ruling bishop of the Saskatoon Eparchy of the UGCC in Canada.
Biographical note
The nominee Bishop Michael Smolinski was born on September 10, 1972 in Saskatoon, Canada.
He entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) on September 1, 1997, and took perpetual vows on August 15, 2002. He studied at the University of Saskatchewan, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in education, and earned a master’s of divinity from the faculty of theology at St. Michael’s College in Toronto. He also completed a course in Eastern Christian Studies at the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute at St. Paul University in Ottawa.
He was ordained a priest on July 5, 2003, at the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Saskatoon by the then Bishop of the Saskatoon Eparchy, Michael Wiwchar. He served in the following church ministries: associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Winnipeg (2003–05), Director of The Welcome Home inner-city ministry (2005–2015) in Winnipeg; extraordinary member of the Provincial Council of Redemptorists (since 2008); pastor of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Saskatoon (2015–2019) and associate pastor of Saints Peter and Paul (2019–22). Since January 17, 2023, he has been the provincial superior of the Redemptorist Congregation in Canada.
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