BISHOP BLASE CUPICH TO SUCCEED CARDINAL GEORGE AT CHICAGO ARCHDIOCESE, VATICAN OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES

WLS
September 19, 2014

http://abc7chicago.com/religion/bishop-blase-cupich-to-succeed-cardinal-george-at-chicago-archdiocese-vatican-announces/316914/

Bishop Blase Cupich of Spokane, Washington, will be the next archbishop of Chicago. The Vatican officially announced Saturday Cupich will succeed Cardinal George.

Chosen by Pope Francis, Cupich is now archbishop-elect in Chicago. He will be installed as archbishop during a special Mass on November 18. Until then, George remains cardinal, though without administrative power.

The Chicago Archdiocese scheduled a rare weekend announcement for Saturday morning. ABC7 will carry the announcement LIVE Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

This will be the first time in the history of the Chicago Archdiocese that a new leader is appointed while the former is still alive. All those before George died while serving.

George and Cupich have worked together in the past. Cupich is considered a moderate within the Catholic Church.

"I've been privileged to know the Cardinal upfront from the work I've that I've done from the Catholic Extension Society. He invited me some years ago to be a member of the board. So I could see that he is a man who cares deeply about the church and has the ability to care about the real needs of people," Cupich said in an earlier interview with ABC7 Chicago.

Father John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame released a statement Saturday morning.

"Having first met Bishop Blase Cupich when I was an 18-year-old backpacker in Europe and he was a seminarian in Rome, I can say with confidence that, as Archbishop of Chicago, he will be a pastorally dedicated, theologically astute and visionary leader in line with Francis's transformative Papacy. We thank Cardinal George for his dedicated service, and we welcome Bishop Cupich to the great Archdiocese of Chicago," Father Jenkins wrote.


In June at the Vatican, Pope Francis will grant the new Chicago archbishop his pallium, which is the scarf symbolizing his pastoral authority.

Cupich called "White Thunder" while working in South Dakota

Cupich, 65, has been bishop of Spokane for the past four years. Born in Omaha, he speaks Spanish and was given the nickname "White Thunder" by Native Americans when he served in South Dakota. At one point, he led the U.S. bishops' committee handling the sexual abuse crisis.

"Those who know don't talk, and those who talk don't know," Cupich said in June, when he was asked about Cardinal George's successor. "I wouldn't bet the farm on any given name."

When Bishop Cupich quoted that Roman adage three months ago, little did he know that his name would be what some might call a "long-shot winner."

ABC7's Alan Krashesky spoke personally with Bishop Cupich in June at the U.S. Bishops' Conference in New Orleans about the very possibility that he would be chosen for the job.

"There are always expectations about what a particular diocese needs, and in fact I know that the nuncio does look at the needs of the diocese very carefully. It's not just a matter of identifying the person. Years ago the nuncio said, first of all you have to define the niche, then you have to find what saint goes in the niche," said Bishop Cupich, in June.

The choice was made by Pope Francis himself, and in the same way that Francis has put a new face on the Catholic Church internationally, the new Chicago archbishop will decide the issues he will focus upon as most important to Catholics here. It's a leadership post with impact down to the pews and the desks in parochial schools.

"This is someone who now immediately is shot into the stratosphere, and becomes a major national and international voice of the church and if 100 years of tradition hold up, will now become a cardinal in short order," said Rocco Palmo, who writes the Vatican insiders' blog "Whispers in the Loggia."

Cardinal George successor search began in May

The search for a new archbishop officially began last May, two months after Francis Cardinal George announced his cancer was showing signs of new activity after it had been in remission for more than a year.

In 2006, Cardinal George was first diagnosed with bladder cancer. The disease returned in 2012 to his kidney and liver. His third bout of cancer last spring was also in his kidney.

"I think the nuncio was very aware that the Cardinal was laboring under great hardship to continue carrying the responsibility of the archdiocese. And so, I'm sure they did the best they could to expedite the process," said Prof. Graziano Marcheschi, St. Xavier University.

In April, Cardinal George resumed chemotherapy. His treatment forced him to cancel a trip to Rome for the canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II, who appointed him cardinal.

Last month, it was announced the cardinal would participate in a new clinical research trial at the University of Chicago.

Despite his illness, the cardinal submitted to the Vatican his preferences for a successor. The choice by Pope Francis is his first major U.S. appointment.

"I think he wants someone who understands the people, who's willing to be with the people, and who's not a careerist," said Marcheschi. "The church and the culture are not on the same page on a lot of issues, and I think the Archbishop of Chicago will be a strong leading voice in that dialogue."

"We love Cardinal George and we'll welcome his successor," said Mary Ann Martin, Catholic Charities Chicago.