CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago Catholics continue to pay tribute to Pope Francis.
As mourners wait for the public viewing to begin in Vatican City, Cardinal Blasé Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, will lead a memorial Mass =at Holy Name Cathedral Wednesday morning.
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It was also announced s public viewing of Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica will begin Wednesday morning, as well.
All day Monday faithful at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe reflected on the late pontiff, who was a champion for immigrants and refugees.
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Many are remembering a leader who sought to make the church more welcoming to communities that felt excluded, including his support for the LGBTQ community.
Cardinal Blase Cupich, the leader of more than two million Chicago-area Catholics, was elevated by Francis and will now be among Cardinals who will elect his successor.
Cupich described the pope’s death as a profound personal loss. He called him a friend.
While grieving, he says he also feels a great sense of gratitude that he lived in a time in which Francis was the Pope.
“I don’t think that he sought controversy, he just tried to be a real person and be in touch with the real life of people and that’s what I think marked him in a different way that helped all of us that are shepherds of dioceses to make sure that we really attend to where people’s live are and so he called us to an authenticity,” Cardinal Cupich said.
Pope Francis also made history as the first Jesuit to lead the Catholic Church.
Wednesday’s Mass here at holy name begins at 10 a.m.
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