TRIBUTES have been paid to a former Barnoldswick priest who died earlier this month.

Father Michael Krychiwskyj, who served as parish priest of St Joseph's Catholic Church in Gisburn Road from 1997 to 2008, died on Friday, July 1.

"He was well liked in Barnoldswick by everybody," said St Joseph's church member, Jennifer Purcell of Barnoldswick.

"He was a character and he always had a smile on his face. He will be sadly missed."

Fr Michael was born in 1957 to immigrant parents, his father being Ukrainian and his mother Italian.

Consequently he grew up attending both St Walburga's Latin Rite Church in Shipley and Holy Trinity Ukrainian Rite Church in Bradford.

He was educated at St Walburga's and St Bede's schools in Bradford before training for priesthood.

He started training for the Ukrainian Rite in Rome but transferred to the Latin Rite studying at Ushaw College, Durham, before ordination to the priesthood for the Diocese of Leeds on August 1, 1981.

He was appointed as the assistant priest in St Brigid's Parish in Huddersfield serving there until 1984 when he moved to St William's, Bradford, for five years.

His final curacy was at St Robert's in Harrogate from 1989 to 1991 before he was appointed parish priest of Holy Family Parish in Leeds.

Fr Michael served there until 1997 when he moved to St Joseph's in Barnoldswick.

Eleven years later he returned to Leeds in 2008 to St Urban's parish, which, in 2010, was enlarged with the amalgamation with Our Lady of Lourdes parish taking the title of St Jeanne Jugan.

Funeral arrangements for Fr Michael were held earlier this week and a private family burial took place at Woodlands Burial Ground in Skipton.