Parishioners at Saint Theresa Parish in Palatine had a special treat Saturday when Francis Cardinal George stopped by to give the traditional Holy Saturday blessing.
Cardinal George blessed their Easter baskets full with samples of food to be served on the Easter holiday.
Afterwards, parishioners lined up to shake hands and take pictures with their church leader, who delivered his Easter message after his recent trip to Rome.
"The new pope is good news at this point and we should be keeping him in prayer he has a lot of hard decisions to make now and I'm sure we can count on the prayers of the people of the archdiocese, they are always so generous," he said.
Cardinal George has visited this parish twice before, but on Holy Saturday he took a page from the new pope's book by taking the train to the service.
It's that kind of humble gesture, that many here say, makes them feel honored to have the cardinal blessing them, especially on Holy Saturday.
"It's a great opportunity, we've never had a chance to see him to come to our church it was really special," said parishioner Desiree Doland.
Cardinal George will be the main celebrant during the Easter vigil liturgy at Holy Name Cathedral on Saturday night when hundreds of adults will be baptized and received into the Catholic Church.
