During a ceremony rich with ritual and symbolism, the next archbishop of Chicago was welcomed to his new assignment Monday night as a prelude to his formal installation as head of the nation’s third-largest Catholic community today.
Although temperatures plunged to the low teens Monday night, keeping many Chicagoans indoors, there was a decidedly warm atmosphere inside Holy Name Cathedral to greet Cupich.
As part of the Rite of Reception ceremony, Cupich used a small mallet to knock on the cathedral’s bronze doors three times — symbolic of his request to be admitted — where he was met by George, the first outgoing archbishop in the city’s history to live to see his successor.
Read more about the ceremony from Michael O’Loughlin.
