Archbishop Cupich Receives Pallium In Ceremony At Holy Name Cathedral
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Archbishop Blase Cupich is wearing the vestments of his office for the first time.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports Blase Cupich is now, officially, Metropolitan Archbishop of Chicago after receiving the pallium from Pope Francis' ambassador to the United States, the Papal Nuncio.
The mass began with a parade of sorts, a procession representing every Catholic diocese in Illinois with their bishops in attendance. That's because receiving the pallium also confers on Cupich symbolic authority over every other diocese in the state.
Then, early in the mass, Papal Nuncio Carlo Maria Vigano, the Pope's man in D.C., laid the pallium on the archbishop's shoulders. It's a white wool scarf or stole, a symbol of his unity with the Pope Francis and his role as shepherd. Cupich spoke about that symbolism in his homily.
"Made of lambs wool, marked with crosses and stained at the ends in black to resemble hooves of the sheep. It is placed on the shoulders, reminding the ones who where it and the entire church he serves that we are a community that goes after the lost sheep, not only those who have strayed, but those who are ignored, forgotten, those who are overlooked," Cupich said.
The origin of the pallium dates back to the 4th century but the ceremony conferring it was traditionally done in Rome, by the Pope.
Pope Francis changed that to move the rite closer to the local people and many attendees here were happy to witness the ceremony celebrated here for the first time ever.
