About St. Michael Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church · Mishawaka, Indiana
St. Michael's Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic parish in Mishawaka, Indiana, belonging to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) and the Eparchy of St. Nicholas of Chicago. Founded in 1916 by immigrants from the Carpathian mountain areas of what are today Ukraine and Slovakia, the parish has served the South Bend–Mishawaka area for more than a century. It celebrates the Byzantine (Kyivan) liturgical tradition in full communion with the Pope of Rome, with services predominantly in English and some Ukrainian. Notre Dame students, faculty, and visitors are frequent and warmly welcomed.
- Established
- 1916
- Patron
- St. Michael the Archangel
- Rector
- Fr. Herman Majkrzak (Parish Administrator)
- Diocese
- Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Nicholas of Chicago (UGCC); geographically located within the territory of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend
Why belong here
St. Michael's offers a rare opportunity in the Michiana region to worship in the ancient Byzantine (Kyivan) liturgical tradition, celebrated in a small, personal parish setting. Sunday Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m. is followed by a coffee hour where visitors and parishioners get to know one another. The community is intentionally ecumenical and welcoming — a home for cradle Eastern Catholics, Latin-Rite Catholics seeking Byzantine spirituality, students from nearby Notre Dame, and anyone curious about the Eastern Catholic tradition. Its preaching, catechesis, and worship are predominantly in English, with some Ukrainian retained in the liturgical heritage.
Mass times at St. Michael Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 4:30–5:15 p.m. on Saturday evenings (and other times by appointment)
About St. Michael's
St. Michael's Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is a parish of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) located in Mishawaka, Indiana, in the South Bend metropolitan area. It practices the Catholic faith according to the Byzantine Rite as it developed in the Kyivan tradition and is in full communion with the Pope of Rome. The parish's bishop is headquartered at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois. Services are celebrated predominantly in English, with some Ukrainian, and all are welcome.
- Founded in 1916
- Byzantine (Kyivan) liturgical tradition
- Parish Administrator: Fr. Herman Majkrzak
- Located at 712 E. Lawrence St., Mishawaka, IN 46545
Our History
St. Michael's was founded in 1916 by a small group of recent immigrants from what is today the Carpathian mountain areas of Ukraine and Slovakia. These pioneers brought with them the Byzantine Catholic faith of their homeland and planted it in northern Indiana. More than a hundred years later, the parish has remained a living center of Eastern Catholic worship and identity in the region. Its community today includes cradle Eastern Catholics of many kinds, Latin-Rite Catholics attracted to the solemnity of Byzantine ritual, Notre Dame students and faculty, and the curious who often find a home in the welcoming community.
- 1916 founding by Carpathian Ukrainian and Slovak immigrants
- More than 100 years of continuous parish life
- Frequent Notre Dame student/faculty visitors
Clergy & Staff
The parish is currently administered by Fr. Herman Majkrzak, a Catholic priest of the Byzantine Rite in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy of St. Nicholas. He was raised in the Anglo-Catholic (Episcopal) tradition, spent many years serving in the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), and came into full communion with Rome through the UGCC. He studied church music at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, and theology at St. Tikhon's Seminary, St. Vladimir's Seminary, and the University of Notre Dame. Before arriving at St. Michael's in July 2025, he served as assisting priest and choirmaster at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania.
- Fr. Herman Majkrzak — Parish Administrator (since 2025)
- [email protected]
- (574) 366-0437
Worship & Liturgical Schedule
St. Michael's celebrates the full range of Byzantine liturgical services. The principal weekly celebration is the Sunday Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m., followed by a coffee hour. Throughout the year, the parish observes Great Vespers, weekday Feast Day liturgies, the Lenten Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesdays or Fridays during Great Lent.
- Sunday Divine Liturgy — 10:00 a.m. (coffee hour following)
- Saturday Great Vespers — 5:30 p.m. (every other week; check calendar)
- Weekday Feast Day Divine Liturgy — 6:15 p.m. (check calendar)
- Lenten Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts — 6:15 p.m. Wednesdays or Fridays
What Services We Celebrate
On Sundays throughout the year, the parish celebrates the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the most common Eucharistic liturgy of the Byzantine Rite, whose anaphora dates back to the early centuries of the Church's life. On the Sundays of Lent and a few other major feasts, the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is used — its anaphora recounts the history of salvation in greater detail. During Great Lent, on Wednesdays or sometimes Fridays, the parish celebrates the penitential Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, in which the vesperal prayer is prayed, Byzantine lenten hymnography is sung, and the Holy Eucharist consecrated the previous Sunday is solemnly received.
- Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (ordinary Sundays)
- Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (Lent and select feasts)
- Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (Great Lent)
- Great Vespers (Saturday evenings, eves of great feasts)
The Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite is the Christian liturgical and spiritual tradition that developed in and around the ancient city of Constantinople, the capital of the eastern Roman Empire. Its dominant liturgical language historically was Greek, although today other local languages — including English and Ukrainian at St. Michael's — are also used. The Byzantine tradition has characteristic approaches to liturgy, theology, spirituality, and canon law. Eastern Catholic faithful are bound by the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, promulgated in 1990, which is distinct from the Latin Church's Code of Canon Law and includes features such as the ordination of married men to the priesthood, ordinary governance by the synod of bishops in each Church's home territory, and the norm of administering all three Mysteries of Christian Initiation (Baptism, Chrismation, and Eucharist) on the same occasion.
- Byzantine liturgical tradition of Constantinople
- Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (1990)
- Three Mysteries of Initiation conferred together
- Married men eligible for priestly ordination
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC)
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church sui iuris — an autonomous Church according to its own established Eastern, specifically Byzantine ('Greek'), traditions within the Catholic Church, in full communion with the Pope of Rome. There are 24 Eastern Catholic Churches sui iuris worldwide, grouped into ritual families that include Byzantine, East Syriac, West Syriac, Armenian, and Coptic. The head of the UGCC is the Major-Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych, whose cathedral is the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, Ukraine.
- Approximately 5 million faithful worldwide
- Present on 5 continents
- 4 eparchies in the United States (Philadelphia, Stamford, Parma, Chicago)
- St. Michael's belongs to the Eparchy of St. Nicholas of Chicago
Parish Life & Community
St. Michael's is a small, intimate parish where the Sunday Divine Liturgy is followed by a coffee hour — an important opportunity for visitors, inquirers, and longtime parishioners to get to know one another. The parish community is intentionally ecumenical, welcoming Eastern Catholics of many backgrounds, Latin-Rite Catholics drawn to Byzantine worship, University of Notre Dame students and faculty, and the simply curious. Fr. Herman Majkrzak also maintains a Substack (Sons of Sirach / @frhermanm) where he writes about his ministry and the Eastern Christian tradition.
- Coffee hour after Sunday Divine Liturgy
- Welcoming Notre Dame and broader community
- Fr. Herman's writing: substack.com/@frhermanm
Contact & Visit
Parishioners and visitors can reach St. Michael's by email at [email protected] or by phone at (574) 366-0437. The parish is located at 712 E. Lawrence Street, Mishawaka, Indiana 46545. The most up-to-date liturgical calendar and any schedule changes are posted on the parish website.
- Address: 712 E. Lawrence Street, Mishawaka, IN 46545
- Phone: (574) 366-0437
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://stmichaelsmishawaka.org/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Herman Majkrzak2025–present
Appointed parish priest/administrator in July 2025, arriving from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Bridgeport, PA where he served as assisting priest and choirmaster on loan from the UGCC. Previously ordained in the Orthodox Church (OCA); studied church music at Westminster Choir College and theology at St. Tikhon's Seminary, St. Vladimir's Seminary, and the University of Notre Dame.