Pope Francis has elevated the Eparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Australia, Bishop Mykola Bychok CSsR, to the College of Cardinals, during a ceremony at St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, reports ABC News.

He was one of 21 new cardinals created by Pope Francis on December 7.

*Cardinal Mykola Bychok, second from left, with Bishop Greg Bennet, Fr Chris de Souza, Fr SImon Ckuj and Archbishop Peter A Comensoli after the consistory at the Vatican. PHOTO: James Carrett.*

At the age of 44, Cardinal Bychok becomes the youngest member of the College of Cardinals, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic, and the first cardinal from Australia since Cardinal George Pell.

The Ukrainian-born missionary, who moved to Melbourne four years ago and will be eligible for Australian citizenship next year, said he “never expected” this.

He said he aims to be a cardinal who is “flexible, holy, accessible and without eminence”.

He has also pledged to use his new position to keep raising awareness about the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Mykola Bychok was born and raised in Ternipol, in western Ukraine. He joined the Redemptorists at the age of 17 and professed his first vows the following year.

He was ordained as a priest in Lviv seven years later, and has also studied and served in Poland, Russia, and the United States.

In January 2020, he moved to Melbourne after Pope Francis appointed him as the Eparchial Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne, also known as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of Melbourne.

During the ceremony at the Vatican, known as a consistory for the creation of cardinals, Cardinal Bychok did not receive the traditional four-pointed red hat.

Instead, Pope Francis placed on his head a black monastic veil with red trim, which is representative of the Eastern Rite.

The pontiff spoke to his youngest cardinal in Ukrainian after he had done so.

“He greeted me in Ukrainian language, he said ‘glory be to Jesus Christ’ so he knows something in Ukrainian. It was very a great moment for me, of support,” Cardinal Bychok said after the service.

This article draws on an ABC News article from Mazoe Ford and Adrian Wilson and from an article on the website of the Ukrainian Catholic Church Australia New Zealand and Oceania (via CathNews).