Pope Selects Bishop Blase Cupich to Replace Cardinal George

Bishop Blase Cupich of Spokane, Wash., will succeed Cardinal Francis George as the leader of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the 2.2 million Catholics who live in Cook and Lake counties. Cardinal George has been urging the Vatican to find his successor since his cancer returned in August 2012. Cupich will take over in November.

Cupich has been outspoken in his advocacy for the poor and is said to be pragmatic, moderate and similar in his outlook on matters of faith and policy as Pope Francis.

“He’s open-minded. He’s pastoral. He’s pro-life,” the Rev. Tom Reese, a senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter, told the Chicago Tribune. “But he doesn’t have to be a culture warrior. He’s going to be a bishop in the image of Pope Francis.”

MARY ANN AHERN INTERVIEWS BISHOP CUPICH

COVERAGE OF BISHOP CUPICH’S APPOINTMENT