CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich started his first full day on the job with Mass at Holy Name Cathedral and a prayer service dedicated to the members of religious orders and lay movements.
"We are all relatives. We are connected to one another," Archbishop Cupich said.
Cupich thanked those present for their service and spoke about the eight sisters who taught him in grade school and the impact they had in shaping his faith.
"Religions have such a day- to-day real-life experience with those they encounter. They in some way become family," Cupich said.
His message of unity was well-received.
"He seems to be a real leader, truly united with the Holy Father and I think he will be very good for the local church here," Father Gerald O'Reilly, Legion of Mary, said.
"He did a real good job of being inclusive. That the baptismal call is what we're all called for and that even though the religious men and women and ecclesial ministers may make a choice on how they live it out, it's really the call of all Christians," Sister Terry Maltby, Sisters of Mercy, said.