Bishop Mark Leonard Bartchak

Bishop Bartchak was born January 1, 1955, in Cleveland, Ohio. (In the Polish language, the family name is Bartczak.) Bishop Bartchak’s parents were founding members of St. Monica Parish in Garfield Heights, OH where he was baptized. Bishop Bartchak is the 5 th of eight children. He attended Catholic elementary and secondary schools, graduating in 1973 from Bradford Central Christian High School, Bradford, Pennsylvania, in the Diocese of Erie. His college studies were at St. Mark Seminary and Gannon University, Erie, PA, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1977. He also studied for the priesthood at Christ the King Seminary, East Aurora, NY, receiving a Master of Arts degree in Theology in 1981. He studied canon law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC where he received the Licentiate degree in 1989 and the Doctorate degree in 1992. Bishop Bartchak was ordained a deacon at Christ the King Seminary on September 22, 1980, and served as deacon at St. Joseph Parish, Warren, Pennsylvania. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Erie on May 15, 1981, by the late Bishop Michael J. Murphy at St. Peter Cathedral, Erie. Immediately after ordination to the priesthood, Bishop Bartchak was assigned as temporary parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish, Warren, Pennsylvania. In August 1981, he was assigned as parochial vicar at St. Francis Parish, Clearfield, Pennsylvania. In 1982 Bishop Bartchak was appointed part-time Defender of the Bond, and in 1986 he was assigned full-time to the Tribunal of the Diocese of Erie. During his time in Washington, Bishop Bartchak assisted as a confessor at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In 1992 Bishop Bartchak was appointed by Bishop Donald W. Trautman as Judicial Vicar and Director of the Office of Conciliation & Arbitration of the Diocese of Erie. In addition to these duties, he was named Vicar for Canonical Affairs of the Diocese of Erie in 2004. In the Diocese of Erie, Bishop Bartchak was an ex-officio member of the presbyteral council, the administrative cabinet and various diocesan committees. He was also a spiritual director at St. Mark Seminary, Eriesince 1991. In addition to his duties in the Diocese of Erie, Bishop Bartchak has been involved in various roles in the Church on the state, national and international level. In 2004, he was appointed to the Administrative Board and the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. In 2007 he was appointed as a consultant for the USCCB Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance. Bishop Bartchak has served as canonical consultant for a number of bishops, dioceses, seminaries, and religious institutes. He has also given presentations to clergy and laity in various places (including a study day for priests of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in 2004). Bishop Bartchak is a member of the Canon Law Society of America (CLSA) and the Mexican Association of Canonists. In 1999 he was elected to serve on the CLSA Board of Governors and later he was elected to serve as Vice-President (2002-2003) and President (2003-2004) of the Canon Law Society of America. During his term as President, Bishop Bartchak represented the CLSA at private meetings at the Vatican with officials of various Congregations, Councils, and Tribunals of the Apostolic See. Bishop Bartchak was in residence at St. Stanislaus Parish in Erie for almost twenty years where he celebrated Mass each day. Bishop Bartchak is a member of the Knights of Columbus and has remained affiliated with Council 409 in Clearfield where he first joined in 1981.