Olyphant, PA -  He was a holy man. Parishioners and friends recalled stories of his zeal for fishing, his advocacy for local baseball and his incredible vigor. But most of all, asked to describe Monsignor Stephen Hrynuck, the faithful called him a holy man. He died Thursday at the age of 102. Monsignor Hrynuck was raised in Philadelphia and ordained in Rome in April 1938. He worked for more than 75 years as a priest, including 57 at SS. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church.

He began serving the Olyphant parish in 1951 and is credited with unifying the once-divided church.

When he stepped down in 2008, he was the oldest active serving Catholic pastor in the United States.

He was a pillar in the community, though he wasn't very tall.

"You'd see him all of the sudden straighten up when he'd start to speak," recalled Patrick Marcinko III. "You'd see him grow a couple of inches all of a sudden."

Mr. Marcinko, the assistant director of SS. Cyril's choir, said Monsignor Hrynuck's acuity impressed him. During a meeting before Monsignor Hrynuck married Mr. Marcinko and his wife 15 years ago, Monsignor illustrated a point by reciting a sonnet he'd learned as a boy - in Polish.

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