Pope Francis' first major appointment in the US Catholic Church was installed as the new archbishop in Chicago on Tuesday.
The city’s Holy Name Cathedral was packed to capacity on Monday and Tuesday as Chicagoans welcomed Archbishop Blase Cupich as the city’s ninth archbishop.
On Monday night, Cupich, 65, presided at a Liturgy of the Word for the clergy of Chicago, Catholic and ecumenical, as well as civic leaders. On Tuesday, he gave the homily at the Mass of Installation celebrated by his predecessor Cardinal Francis George, 77, who has cancer.
Chicago, with more than 2.2 million parishioners, is the third-largest U.S. diocese by population. Its archbishops are typically elevated to the rank of cardinal and play an important role nationally. Half of Chicago’s Catholics are Hispanic and there are also large African-American and Polish communities.
Cupich, who is of Croatian descent, has since 2011 led the diocese of Spokane, where he is credited with brokering an agreement with sex abuse victims in such a way that he earned the praise of the victims’ lawyers – and spared the diocese bankruptcy. His appointment to Chicago has been welcomed by victims’ groups.
At Monday’s Liturgy of the Word, Cupich said he had learnt not to be wedded to his own agenda. “That is not because I don’t have dreams and hopes, or that I want to ignore the challenges and trials of life. Rather it is because I have learned that my agenda is always too small; it’s prone to be self-serving, and ultimately unworthy of the people I am called to serve. No, the agenda has to be God’s, which is beyond our imagining and our abilities. And unlike our priorities, God’s agenda has staying power, it endures.”
In an interview in the current issue of The Tablet, he praised Pope Francis’ ability to connect with people. Regarding Francis’ comments on economics, he said: “Instead of approaching life from the 30,000ft level of ideas, he challenges policy-makers and elected officials – indeed all of us – to experience the life of everyday and real people.”
Regarding criticism of Pope Francis’ handling of the recent Synod on the Family by a number of US clerics, he told The Tablet that Francis was “issuing a call to conversion, especially on the part of those who have become comfortable with the way the Church has been operating.”
Top: Archbishop Cupich shortly before Monday's Liturgy of the Word. Above: With his predecessor Cardinal George. Photos: CNS
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