St. Josaphat Kuncevyc St. Josaphat Kuncevyc, a Virtuous Saint of
the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church - Saint Josaphat On November
12, the Church remembers the life and tireless efforts of St.
Josaphat Kuncevyc, the first Eastern Rite (Byzantine Catholic)
saint to be canonized by Rome in 1876. This devout man preached
and worked to encourage unity within the church and would
eventually be martyred at the hands of the schismatic group he
had worked to unite to the Apostolic See of Rome. St. Josaphat
Kuncevyc was born and baptized as Johannes in the small
Lithuanian town of Volodymyr in either 1580 or 1584. It was not
a happy time for the Ruthenian Church, inwhich he was raised,
and which united itself to Rome in 1595. There were, however,
members of the Church who maintained a schism from Rome, and had
disdain for the "Uniates," which was the term for those who were
in full communion with Rome. Though Johannes's father was of
noble heritage, he was devoted to commercial pursuits, and held
the office of town-cou