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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate Blase Joseph
4Cupich on the occasion of his appointment as the new Archbishop
5of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Blase Cupich was born on March 19, 1949 in Omaha,
7Nebraska as a native son of the American Midwest; and
 
8    WHEREAS, After attending St. John Vianney College Seminary
9in Saint Paul, Minnesota and undergoing further studies in Rome
10at the Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical
11Gregorian University, Blase Cupich was ordained to the Roman
12Catholic priesthood on August 16, 1975; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Displaying a vocation that included pastoral
14duties, teaching, and further study, Blase Cupich attained his
15doctorate in Sacred Theology in 1987; during this time, he
16served as an associate pastor, pastor, high school instructor,
17and university instructor in the greater Omaha area and as
18President-Rector of the Pontifical College Josephinum in
19Columbus, Ohio; and
 
20    WHEREAS, On July 6, 1998, Pope John Paul II appointed Blase
21Cupich as the Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota; on September

 

 

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121, 1998, he received episcopal consecration from Bishop Harry
2Flynn of Saint Paul; he served the diocese of Rapid City from
31998 until 2010, when he was appointed as Bishop of Spokane by
4Pope Benedict XVI; and
 
5    WHEREAS, As the Bishop of Spokane, Blase Cupich took on
6increasing responsibilities as part of and on the behalf of the
7American episcopacy of the Roman Catholic Church; he was a
8member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Scripture Translation and was
9the author of "The New Roman Missal: A Time of Renewal", a work
10that placed the new English translation of the Roman Missal
11into the Catholic Church's tradition of liturgical renewal, in
12July of 2011; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In March of 2013, Blase Cupich commenced a 3-year
14term as chairman of the National Catholic Education
15Association; and
 
16    WHEREAS, On September 20, 2014, Pope Francis announced that
17Blase Cupich would succeed Cardinal Francis George in Chicago;
18he was installed on November 18, 2014, succeeding Francis
19George, who became the archbishop emeritus; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Archbishop Blase Cupich has chosen, for his motto,
21the 4 words "Peace Be With You"; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3we welcome Blase Joseph Cupich as the 9th Archbishop of
4Chicago; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That we recognize Archbishop Cupich's life of
6pastoral leadership, his experience as an instructor in the
7fields of secondary and post-secondary education, the
8increasing responsibilities of his life as a bishop of the
9Roman Catholic Church, and the tremendous challenges he faces
10in his new Archdiocese, and wish him well as he turns to deal
11with these challenges; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13presented to Blase Joseph Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago.