Cardinal Blase Cupich is in Puerto Rico visiting with the survivors of Hurricanes Maria and Irma.
Last month, Pope Francis asked the cardinal to make a visit before Christmas as a “means of drawing close to the people and their pastors.”
Cupich arrived Sunday, and said on a Facebook post that “it is painful to see first-hand the destruction left by Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma in Puerto Rico. I am here to reassure our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters that the Holy Father cares about them and prays for them.”
The cardinal also delivered a $40,000 donation from Saint Anne’s in Barrington to nuns working in the island’s poorest communities. Cupich is scheduled to return to Chicago on Wednesday.
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