Pope Leo XIV Names Marek Forgáč Metropolitan Archbishop of Košice, Slovakia
Vatican City — In a bulletin published on October 14, the Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Bishop Bernard Bober from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Košice, Slovakia, and has appointed Bishop Marek Forgáč, 52, as metropolitan archbishop of Košice. Forgáč is transferred from the titular see of Seleuciana and the office of auxiliary bishop of Košice. The appointment was announced at St. Elizabeth's Cathedral in Košice. Catholic media report that the archdiocese serves approximately 700,000 Catholics and nearly 500 priests.
According to the curriculum vitae published by the Holy See, Forgáč was born on January 21, 1974, in Košice. He studied philosophy and theology at the seminary of Spišské Podhradie, in the diocese of Spiš, and, after his military service, was ordained a priest on June 19, 1999, and incardinated into the archdiocese of Košice. After ordination he served as parish vicar in Trebišov, Snina and Humenné from 1999 to 2002, and then as head of youth pastoral care at the university Pastoral Centre of Košice from 2002 to 2004.
Forgáč earned a licentiate in psychology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a doctorate in social psychology at the University of Trnava in Slovakia. From 2007 to 2016 he served as lecturer, deputy dean and director of studies at the Theological Faculty of Košice and as director of the university Pastoral Centre. He was elected to the titular see of Seleuciana and as auxiliary bishop of Košice on June 11, 2016, and received episcopal ordination on September 1 of that year. Within the Slovak Episcopal Conference he chairs the Commission for the Protection of Minors, the Commission for Parish Catechesis and the Sub-Commission for Music.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 斯洛伐克科希策圣米迦勒小堂与圣伊丽莎白主教座堂，Ingo Mehling 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons / St. Michael's Chapel and St. Elisabeth Cathedral in Košice, Slovakia, by Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
