CHICAGO — Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Bruce Rauner will travel to Rome to witness the elevation of Archbishop Blase Cupich to cardinal.
Cardinals are the most senior members of the Roman Catholic church after the pope.
Emanuel and Rauner will be part of an 80-member delegation that includes civic, faith, elected and business leaders, as well as students from two Catholic high schools that will go to Rome to "support and honor" Cupich.
“For more than two years, Archbishop Cupich has supported Chicago through his service, and Chicago will be there to support him as he is elevated to Cardinal,” Emanuel said in a statement. “Whether you are a part of the Catholic Church or not, all Chicagoans have come to know Archbishop Cupich as a man of principle, someone who believes in the power of inclusion, and a voice for the voiceless — in the Church and throughout our city.”
Cupich will become a cardinal Saturday and a celebratory Mass will take place Sunday.
The delegation will also include U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Police Supt. Eddie Johnson and former NBA star Isiah Thomas.
Despite his new role, Cupich will continue to serve as the leader of the 2.2 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties, where he is leading an effort to overhaul the Archdiocese of Chicago's 351 parishes and 229 schools.
Pope Francis named Cupich to replace the ailing Cardinal Francis George as archbishop of Chicago in 2014 in his first major appointment in the American church.
Cupich's predecessors were also named cardinals within two years of being named Chicago archbishop.
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