CHICAGO (IL)
dotCommonweal
Grant Gallicho
Updated.
Atlanta — Bishop Blase Cupich of Spokane, Washington, will succeed Cardinal Francis George as archbishop of Chicago. His installation Mass will be held on November 18. The Associated Press broke the story Friday night, and was quickly followed by other outlets. Vatican Radio confirmed the appointment early Saturday morning. On Friday evening, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced it would hold a press conference on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Central. (A spokesperson for the archdiocese would not confirm the purpose of the event, and Cupich did not respond to a request for comment.) The AP cited an anonymous source, which supported rumors that began circulating Friday among several journalists who had gathered here this weekend for the Religion Newswriters Association conference.
The appointment of George’s successor was widely considered to be Pope Francis’s most significant decision for the church in the United States. If true, the decision to tap Cupich to lead Chicago–the third largest U.S. diocese–signals a major change for the American church.
In 1997, Pope John Paul II selected George to be the eighth archbishop of Chicago. He was the first Windy City native to serve as archbishop, and he followed Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, a leading liberal churchman beloved of his people. Before long, Chicago Catholics would learn just how different George was from his predecessor. Highly regarded for his intellect, George never shied away from taking sides in the culture wars, most recently as a vocal opponent of the Affordable Care Act over its abortion-funding mechanism and the contraception mandate.
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