Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich will visit Puerto Rico on behalf of Pope Francis, as the island struggles to recover from the devastation by Hurricane Maria.
In a letter to priests Monday, the archdiocese said Pope Francis asked Cupich to make the trip “in the days before Christmas as a means of drawing close to the people and their pastors.”
Cupich also serves as chancellor of Catholic Extension, a papal society that serves poor mission dioceses. Just days after Hurricane Maria made landfall Sept. 20, Catholic Extension provided $350,000 in emergency funding to the six dioceses on the island that have no other sources of income. In many dioceses, the local Catholic church is the main source of humanitarian relief such as food and shelter.
“While other relief organizations are sending funds and supplies en masse, Catholic Extension is focusing its efforts on keeping churches up and running so that they, in turn, can deploy resources and supplies to help the community,” Catholic Extension said in a statement.
Rebuilding and repairing churches in Puerto Rico will be a priority down the road, Catholic Extension said. In the meantime, Cupich will head there for a three-day visit on Sunday.
“Pope Francis has asked Cardinal Cupich to express his deep concern, as a father would have for his sons and daughters suffering in his family,” the archdiocese said in its announcement, “and to let the people and pastors know that their situation weighs heavily on him.”
mbrachear@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @TribSeeker
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