Pope Francis Gains Eloquent Voice In U.S. as Cupich Becomes Archbishop of Chicago

Pope Francis' mission of reforming the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States gained a boost on Tuesday when his appointee, Bishop Blase Cupich, took his seat as the new archbishop of Chicago, the nation's third largest Catholic archdiocese.

The 65-year-old Cupich (pronounced SOO-pitch) thus became the Pope's first major appointment in the U.S. Catholic Church. The moderate prelate who previously served as bishop in Spokane, Washington, replaces the conservative and retiring Cardinal Francis George, 77, who has cancer.

Church sources say Cupich shares the Pope's views on the need to reinvigorate the church by giving emphasis on mercy rather than condemnation, reforms rather than inertia, and all-out effort to serve the poor, migrants and those bereft of hope.

Just like Pope Francis, Cupich champions humility and modesty. An indication of this is his preferred accommodation – a simple quarters in the Chicago cathedral's rectory rather than in the 19-chimney mansion in the city's historic Gold Coast district that has been home to the city's archbishop's since 1885.

With Cupich at the helm in Chicago, the Pope gets an eloquent American prelate who can spread his new message of reforms and compassion to Catholics in the U.S.

With 2.2 million parishioners under his wings, the archbishop of Chicago traditionally plays a major role in the American Catholic Church hierarchy and with local and national political leaders as well.

Since the Vatican typically elevates the archbishop of Chicago to the rank of cardinal, Cupich could be eligible to enter a conclave to elect a pope after Francis' death or resignation.

In his homily, Cupich set the tone of his leadership with a call for action. "We as a church should not fear leaving the security of familiar shores, the peacefulness of the mountaintop of our self-assuredness, but rather walk into the mess," he said.

Cupich spoke plainly and included jokes in his homily in an effort to reach out to more people. He said he hoped he would not be expected to repeat Jesus' miracle of walking on water, saying: "I can barely swim."

He quoted the words of Jesus Christ, Pope Leo I, Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, and Pope Francis. However, he had no quote from Pope Benedict XVI, the pope emeritus and champion of Catholic conservatives who Pope Francis succeeded following his retirement in 2013.

At the end of his homily, Cupich thanked Pope Francis and said, "He can count on the Archdiocese of Chicago to be fully behind him and with him."

Cupich was installed as archbishop at a Mass at the Holy Name Cathedral, accompanied by George and the papal nuncio, Carlo Maria Vigano. Also in attendance at the multilingual installation Mass were other American bishops, his large extended family and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Cupich was handed the golden crosier, a shepherd's staff, which belonged to his powerful liberal predecessor, Cardinal George Mundelein, who became archbishop of Chicago 99 years ago and served for 24 years.

Showcasing Chicago's diversity, songs and prayers were spoken in several languages, including Spanish, Polish and Tagalog. Forty-four percent of Chicago-area parishioners are Hispanic.

Meanwhile in the Vatican also on Tuesday, Pope Francis spoke of how Christians must never be content with where they are in the spiritual life, but rather must seek constant conversion.

In his homily, the Pope addressed those present in the Vatican's Saint Martha guesthouse, saying the Lord constantly calls us to conversion, and condemned "those who live by appearances, Christians of appearances."

"Appearances are these Christians' shroud: they are dead....Am I one of these Christians of appearances? Am I alive inside, do I have a spiritual life? Do I hear the Holy Spirit, do I listen to the Holy Spirit, do I move forward?" he asked.