Cardinal Blase Cupich celebrates 50 years of priesthood with Golden Jubilee Mass

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Fifty years ago, Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich was ordained into the Catholic priesthood.

Saturday night, hundreds of parishioners, deacons and priests celebrated Cardinal Cupich's Golden Jubilee with a special Mass at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral.

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Fifty years of sacred service is cause for celebration.

The procession stretched down the sidewalk outside Holy Name Cathedral.

Inside, the sacred walls of the sanctuary hundreds of Chicago's faithful raised their voices and bowed their heads in prayer.

The Saturday evening Mass marked half a century of Catholic ministry for Cardinal Cupich. The scripture reflected the milestone

Ordained on August 16, 1975, Cupich went on to serve as bishop in South Dakota and Washington state before arriving as the Archbishop of Chicago in 2014.

It was here, in October of 2016, that the late Pope Francis chose Cupich as his first Archbishop from the United States to elevate into the College of Cardinals.

In a conversation Friday with ABC7, Cardinal Cupich recalled what made that moment so special.

"The actual announcement came on October the 9th, and that was, that was the day after the Cubs won the pennant," Cupich said. "And so I remembered quite vividly, because I was at the, I was at the Cubs stadium the night before, and it was, it was a very, I think, moving moment."

In that role as Cardinal, Cupich was seen as an integral voice inside the papal conclave that chose the church's very first American-born Pope.

The Catholic Church has been around for thousands of years, and in Cupich's first 50 years of service, an American Pope was chosen. The Archbishop spoke on what that means to him.

"Well, also, in the verse, in my 50 years as a priest, we've had, I think, some really wonderful things that have taken place in the life of the church," Cupich said. "But yes, it is an historic moment for us. We're very proud of that."

But Saturday evening, the historic moment was Cardinal Cupich's to claim.

"Cardinal Cupich has meant stability to the church for a long time here in Chicago," parishioner Joan Hammel said. "He brings with him humility and a sense of service."

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"I am convinced that in this past half century we have been living in extraordinary times, historic times for the church, following the council," Cupich said. "Let us never take that for granted."