Pope Leo XIV has appointed Jesuit Milan Lach as the new bishop of the Eparchy of Bratislava for Byzantine-rite Catholics in Slovakia, as reported this Thursday by the bulletin of the Holy See Press Office.
Until now, Lach served as titular bishop of Ostracine and auxiliary bishop of the same eparchy, in addition to acting as apostolic visitor for Greek-Catholic faithful residing in Western Europe.
A Jesuit with extensive academic training
Milan Lach was born on November 18, 1973, in Kežmarok (Slovakia). After beginning his formation in the Greek-Catholic seminary of Prešov, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1995, where he took his first vows after completing the novitiate.
He then continued his theological studies at Trnava University in Bratislava, where he completed his priestly formation. He was ordained a priest on July 1, 2001, in the Greek-Catholic cathedral of Košice.
His academic career continued in Rome at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, where he obtained a licentiate in Eastern ecclesiastical sciences in 2006 and a doctorate in the same discipline in 2009. During his stay in Rome, he also carried out pastoral work at the Pontifical Russicum College and collaborated with Vatican Radio.
Pastoral and academic service
Upon returning to Slovakia, Lach directed the East-West Spirituality Center “Michael Lacko” in Košice, dedicated to the study of Eastern Christian spirituality. He also taught at university and participated in various theological research initiatives.
In the Society of Jesus, he held responsibilities in the formation of young Jesuits and collaborated pastorally with Greek-Catholic communities in Bratislava.
In 2013, Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of the Archeparchy of Prešov, receiving episcopal consecration that same year. Subsequently, he held various positions within the Slovak Greek-Catholic Church and the country’s Episcopal Conference, including responsibilities in the areas of bioethics, health pastoral care, and liturgy.
Episcopal experience in the United States
In 2017, Pope Francis designated him apostolic administrator of the Greek-Catholic Eparchy of Parma (United States), belonging to the Ruthenian Church, and the following year he was appointed bishop of that same circumscription.
In 2023, he returned to Slovakia after being appointed auxiliary bishop of the Eparchy of Bratislava.
Additionally, in recent years, he has served as apostolic visitor for Greek-Catholic faithful residing in Western Europe, a mission aimed at pastorally accompanying communities of Byzantine tradition scattered outside their historical territories.
New stage at the helm of the Eparchy of Bratislava
With the appointment announced this Thursday, Lach now assumes full governance of the Eparchy of Bratislava, one of the circumscriptions of the Slovak Greek-Catholic Church.
Eparchies are the Eastern equivalent of Latin dioceses and are part of the Eastern Catholic Churches, which preserve their own liturgical tradition and canonical discipline within full communion with the Bishop of Rome.