Pastor influenced so many lives

A Northwest Side Chicago church today and Saturday will celebrate the life of its pastor, a popular priest who was killed while riding his bike this week in Des Plaines.

Thousands are expected to be at St. Joseph Ukrainian Catholic Church, where the Rev. Pavlo Hayda, 42, was pastor since 1995.

Rev. Hayda was bicycling in Des Plaines Tuesday after dropping his car off at a nearby dealership. According to police, he was killed when he hit an SUV backing out of a driveway.

The driver of that car was ticketed.

Rev. Hayda's wife, Christine, described him as a "very warm-hearted, generous, compassionate man."

Christine Hayda said she met Pavlo while he was working in another parish in Chicago. He was born in Battle Creek, Mich., and decided on priesthood in high school.

"He wanted to find a way to bring God to the lives of people, and he thought this was the way for him," Christine said. "He comes from a long line of priests: His grandfather was a priest, and he has a 400-year history of priesthood in the family."

Rev. Hayda was ordained in 1992 at St. George Cathedral in Ukraine, the same place his grandfather was ordained 65 years earlier.

Christine said her husband made a quiet and subtle impact on the lives of thousands of people.

"We have people coming from as far away as Australia and the East coast and Canada for the funeral," she said. "These are people he's impacted with his work."

Christine said her husband was a chaplain in Scout camps during the summer and was scheduled to teach a comparative religion class at DePaul University this fall, where she also works. He also worked with youth groups and has organized clergy retreats.

"He met and touched on the lives of probably many more people than he realized," she said.

Rev. Hayda is also survived by his four children, Julian, Zachary and twins Dmytryj and Elias; and his parents Ihor and Roma.

Visitation will be from 2 to 10 p.m. today at the church, 5000 N. Cumberland Ave., Chicago. A sacred wake will be held at 7 p.m.

Services will be 10 a.m. Saturday at the church, and burial will be at the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, 9001 W. Higgins Road, Chicago. A lunch will also be held at the church following the burial.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to the Hayda Education Fund, c/o Self-Reliance Ukrainian American Credit Union, 5000 N. Cumberland Ave., Chicago, IL 60656. For details, visit www.muzykafuneralhome.com.