Освячення храму святого Луки та проголошення нової парафії в місті Коді, штат Вайомінг

Bishop Benedict (Aleksiychuk) of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Nicholas of Chicago consecrated a new church and established St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Cody, Wyoming. During the visit on Sunday, Oct. 18, the bishop also elevated the community from a mission to a parish and appointed Father Philip Gilbert as pastor. Father Gilbert previously served the community as administrator.

The parish consists of approximately 60 parishioners, about half of whom are young children. The community uses English for all liturgical services. While the congregation is composed of local Wyoming residents, Father Gilbert is a native American who studied the Ukrainian language at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv.

The process to establish a permanent presence in Cody began in the fall of 2021 when local Ukrainian Catholics requested a priest. Eparchial priests began visiting monthly to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the spring of 2022. The community was designated as the St. Luke the Evangelist Mission in 2023, meeting in various available locations before the consecration of the new church.