Biography, May 2004

Bishop Edward Michael Grosz, son of the late Joseph and Helen Grosz, was born on February 16, 1945, the second of three sons. His older brother Ronald lives in Denison, Texas, and younger brother Thomas resides in Erie, Pa.

Growing up in Buffalo’s Black Rock section, Bishop Grosz attended Assumption School, the Diocesan Preparatory Seminary, both in Buffalo, and St. John Vianney Seminary in East Aurora, where he received a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and a master of divinity degree. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 29, 1971, by Bishop James A. McNulty at St. Joseph New Cathedral, Buffalo.  After his ordination, Bishop Grosz attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., where he earned a master’s degree in liturgics.

Following his return to Buffalo, he was assigned to Transfiguration Parish on the East Side of Buffalo where he served as assistant pastor, followed by assignments as an assistant at St. Luke’s and Blessed Trinity parishes, both in Buffalo. His other parish assignments have included serving as the weekend assistant at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Buffalo, and pastorates at St. Philip the Apostle, Cheektowaga, and St. Stanislaus Kostka and Holy Trinity parishes, Niagara Falls. In 1996, he was named episcopal vicar of the Western Niagara vicariate and served in that capacity until his appointment in October 2003 as pastor of St. Stanislaus Parish, Buffalo, and as episcopal vicar of the Southeast Buffalo vicariate.

For 11 years, Bishop Grosz served as chaplain for the Villa Maria Motherhouse of the Felician Sisters in Buffalo.  In addition to his parish assignments, Bishop Grosz had significant experience in administrative positions. From 1975 to 1980, he was the executive secretary of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission. In 1976, Bishop Edward D. Head named him director of the Diocesan Office of Worship, a position he held for 14 years until he received his first pastorate at St. Philip the Apostle Church.  In November 2003, Bishop Grosz became the chaplain of the Western New York Division of the Polish American Congress.

Bishop Grosz has held and continues to hold a number of positions on local, state and nation-wide boards and committees. He was a representative of the dioceses of New York State to the national board of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions, diocesan director of the Legion of Mary, spiritual moderator of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima and the director of the 600th Czestochowa Jubilee Celebration. Also, as diocesan coordinator of the Holy Year of Redemption, diocesan coordinator for the visit of Pope John Paul II to Toronto, coordinator of pilgrimages to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., diocesan coordinator for the 1976 International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia, and coordinator of the diocesan Marian Year Committee.

In 1987, Bishop Grosz became the official liaison between the Diocese of Buffalo and the Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Community of Buffalo. He received bi-ritual faculties from Rome giving him the ability to minister in Ukrainian Byzantine parishes on occasion. He has also been very involved in dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Polish National Catholic Church.

Bishop Grosz named a monsignor on October 15, 1988, and was appointed auxiliary bishop of Buffalo and titular bishop of Morosbisdo by Pope John Paul II on November 22, 1989. He was ordained a bishop and installed to these positions on February 2, 1990.

Bishop Grosz was diocesan coordinator of the visit to Buffalo of Cardinal Jozef Glemp, primate of Poland, in 1991, as well as coordinator for the visit of Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz of Wroclaw, Poland.

Despite his many other obligations, Bishop Grosz found time to write columns and articles for religious publications. He wrote a liturgy column for the Western New York Catholic, the monthly Catholic newspaper of the Diocese of Buffalo, and publications including The Priest, Pastoral Life, Modern Liturgy, Maria Legionis, Priestly Heart newsletter, Comfort My People newsletter, Eucharistic Minister, and The Catholic Digest. The bishop has also authored two books - Celebrating the Marian Year (United States Catholic Conference, Washington, DC, 1987) and I Come to Serve (Pueblo Publishing company, New York, 1987).

On May 24, 2004, the College of Consultors of the Diocese of Buffalo elected him diocesan administrator. He will serve in that position until the 13th Bishop of Buffalo is installed.