Bishop Edward Grosz, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo, celebrates Mass during the Catholic Daughters of America installation on July 17, 2010 at St. Louis Church.

Bishop Edward M. Grosz, auxiliary bishop of Buffalo, will be the principal celebrant at a Mass of Thanksgiving, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2 p.m., at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Buffalo, as he celebrates the 25th anniversary of his ordination as bishop.

Cardinal Edward Egan, archbishop emeritus of New York, will preside.  Among the concelebrating bishops will be Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo; Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, bishop emeritus of Buffalo; Archbishop Henry J. Mansell, archbishop emeritus of Hartford and former bishop of Buffalo; Bishop Robert J. Cunningham, bishop of Syracuse; Bishop Terry R. LaValley, bishop of Ogdensburg, and Bishop Raymond Chappetto, auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn.           

Bishop Donald W. Trautman, bishop emeritus of Erie, will also concelebrate and will deliver the homily.  Bishop Trautman was one of the co-consecrators when Bishop Grosz was ordained a bishop on Feb. 22, 1990.  Bishop Grosz was appointed auxiliary bishop of Buffalo and titular bishop of Morosbisdo by Pope John Paul II (now St. John Paul II) on Nov. 22, 1989.

Pope Francis sent Bishop Grosz a papal blessing in honor of his silver jubilee as a bishop.

Special guests at the Mass will include Bishop Basil H. Losten, eparch emeritus, Eparchy of Stanford, Conn., Ukrainian Byzantine Church; Bishop John E. Mack, bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo-Pittsburgh,  and Bishop Thaddeus Peplowski, bishop emeritus of Buffalo-Pittsburgh, both of the National Catholic Church.

Members of Bishop Grosz' 1971 ordination class will be among the concelebrating priests.

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 in Buffalo.

After his ordination, Bishop Grosz attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., where he earned a master's degree in liturgy.

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 and Blessed Trinity parishes, both in Buffalo.

His other parish assignments have included serving as the weekend assistant at St. Joseph 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.

On May 24, 2004, the College of Consultors of the Diocese of Buffalo elected Bishop Grosz diocesan administrator. He served in that position until Oct. 28, 2004 when Bishop Edward U. Kmiec was installed as the 13th Bishop of Buffalo.

For 11 years, Bishop Grosz served as chaplain for the Felician Sisters in Buffalo at their motherhouse in Cheektowaga.

In addition to his parish assignments, Bishop Grosz has 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 Parish.

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 national 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.

He also served 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 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. From 2005 to 2008, he served on the diocesan Strategic Planning Commission that developed and implemented the Journey in Faith and Grace, the parish reconfiguration plan.

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, 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, D.C., 1987), and "I Come to Serve" (Pueblo Publishing Company, New York, 1987).

To celebrate Bishop Grosz, the Western New York Catholic recently published a number of articles about the various ministries he has championed while serving his vocation.

Bishop Grosz recalls surprise in being named auxiliary bishop

Bishop Malone appreciates his brother bishop

Sisters of Charity Hospital chaplain recalls Bishop Grosz's early life

Bishop Grosz brings special ministry to diocese's 'Mother Church of Polonia'

Bishop Grosz has left lasting impression on diocesan procedures, offices

Pastor of Assumption Parish reflects on Bishop Grosz

Bishop Grosz collaborates with Polish National Catholic Church

Bishop Grosz served the permanent diaconate

Bishop Grosz served Felician sisters for 10 years

Bishop Grosz has offered service to Ukrainian Catholic Church

Photo Gallery of Bishop Grosz