Retired Bishop Dudick of Byzantine Diocese of Passaic dies at age 91

Published: 2007-06-01

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. (CNS) -- Retired Bishop Michael J. Dudick of the Byzantine Diocese of Passaic, N.J., died May 30 at the Rest Haven nursing facility in Schuylkill Haven. He was 91. He had previously been in residence at Holy Annunciation Monastery in Sugarloaf. Prior to his retirement in 1995, he had been the bishop of Passaic for 27 years. A Divine Liturgy with the office of Christian burial was scheduled for June 5 at St. Michael's Cathedral in Passiac. The liturgy was to be concelebrated by Byzantine Archbishop Basil M. Schott of Pittsburgh, Bishop Andrew Pataki, the current bishop of Passaic, and several other bishops and clergy. Interment was set for June 6 at Mount St. Macrina Cemetery in Uniontown. A native of St. Clair, Bishop Dudick was born Feb. 24, 1916, and ordained Nov. 13, 1945, after studies at St. Procopius Seminary in Lisle, Ill. When the Passaic Diocese was formed in 1963, he was its first chancellor. He was appointed by Pope Paul VI to be its second bishop Aug. 21, 1968. During his tenure as bishop, 32 new parishes and missions were established and several men were ordained to the priesthood and diaconate. New monasteries were established, including a monastery for the Basilian Fathers of Mariapoch in Matawan, N.J., and a monastery for Carmelite nuns in Sugarloaf. Always a supporter of the spiritual growth of the faithful, Bishop Dudick launched annual pilgrimages in his diocese, and helped establish the Carpathian Village renewal and retreat center and St. Nicholas Shrine in the Poconos.

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