Cardinal Cupich Holds A Christmas Mass At Cook County Jail
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As Christians across Chicago celebrate Christmas in churches, the head of the Archdiocese said mass with inmates at the Cook County jail on Saturday morning.
This was the first time Cardinal Blase Cupich led Christmas mass at the jail since being elevated to cardinal last month. WBBM's Nancy Harty reports.
He said the holiday message can certainly serve as a reminder that when Jesus was born, people did not really consider him as someone who mattered.
"It's an opportunity for us to put a very fine point on the fact that when Jesus came in the world, he was not considered someone who particularly mattered," Cardinal Cupich said.
The cardinal said that is particularly meaningful for the 80-some inmates who came to mass in a medium security section of the jail.
"There are folks here that can easily think they do not matter and count," Cardinal Cupich said.
Cupich shook hands with the inmates and wished them Merry Christmas. He encouraged the men, dressed in beige jump suits with DOC printed on the back, to make sure the world doesn't see them just by their inmate numbers.
With guards and volunteers looking on, two inmates did readings during the traditional Catholic mass.
At the end, the cardinal asked the men to pray for him, as he said he will do for them.
