This past Friday, Pope Francis appointed the Rev. Artur Bubneyvch, of the clergy of Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix, as bishop of the same eparchy. He previously served as a parish priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Albuquerque, N.M.

A native of Perechin, Zakarpattia, in Ukraine, Bishop Bubneyvch studied at the Greek-Catholic seminary of the Eparchy of Mukachavo in Uzhgorod. From 1996 to 2001, he studied theology at the International Theological Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Gaming, Austria.

The 49-year-old transferred to the United States, in the Byzantine Eparchy of Holy Protection of Mary of Phoenix, and was ordained a deacon in March of 2014. He received priestly ordination the following September and was appointed the parish priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Albuquerque in December of 2014. Bishop Bubneyvch is a member of the Eparchial Vocation Board and the board of Interparochial Youth Adult Commission.