Archbishop Cupich Prepares For Installation Mass
(CBS) -- Chicago's next Archbishop, Blase Cupich, arrives in Chicago Thursday, with his installation now less than a week away.
Before leaving a Bishops Conference meeting in Baltimore, he told CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine about his plans for the big day.
"I have all my nieces and nephews, great-nephews and nieces, my brothers and sisters, their spouses and then the extended family which is really not a family it's a tribe," said Archbishop Cupich.
Cupich says there will be more than a hundred and many more personal friends parishioners from past assignments. He'll also put his personal stamp on the installation eve tradition.
"Since a majority of people, a lot of people who are coming were not of the Catholic tradition, the Catholic faith, I wanted it to be a more ecumenical word service," he said.
The installation mass itself is hundreds of years old. Cardinal George, as the first Chicago Archbishop to retire, will be the first to join the papal nuncio in passing the torch, or crozier, to his successor.
"The nuncio and I will lead Archbishop Cupich to the chair and give him the crozier and when he sits in that chair he is installed as the Archbishop of Chicago," said Cardinal George.
According to Rocco Palmo, who writes the blog, "Whispers In The Loggia," "There are going to be at least 150 bishops, which for these events is massive, probably around seven or eight cardinals, perhaps from outside the United States even, and the whole world will be watching."
Papal Nuncio Carlo Maria Vigano, who'll represent the Pope, told Levine about the speed of the selection after Cardinal George had asked him to start the process.
"Certainly the health of Cardinal was a major preoccupation also of the Holy Father," he said.
Now, with just six days to go, Cardinal George, has already taken a kind of victory lap at the Bishops Congress, but he insists, he's not done yet.
Until Tuesday, if something comes in for the Archbishop of Chicago, it comes on my desk," Cardinal George said.
All of the Cardinal's auxiliary bishops were invited out to lunch in with their new boss, the transition clearly already underway.