Cardinal george chicago wake
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The national Catholic community is remembering Cardinal Francis George, who passed away Friday, as a man of intelligence, scholarship, and leadership skills – with an often acerbic wit and penchant for controversial comments. But for many of Chicago’s 2.3 million Catholics, George is a man who touched their lives personally in his 17 years as their spiritual leader.
“He was a person to me, more than being a client or being the archbishop,” says James Serritella, the outside legal counsel to the Chicago archdiocese. Serritella choked back tears recalling how George attended the wake of his wife Ruby, who died of cancer in 2009. George stopped to talk with all of the family members present. He then invited Serritella to stay at the Cardinal’s Residence until he felt up to returning to the home he had shared with his wife.
“We had many long conversations. He made sure I was comfortable and my needs were met. He even invited my son over for dinner at the residence. It was a difficult time for us and he did a very human thing. I will have a hard time ever forgetting what he did for my family and me,” Serritella says.
George later nominated Serritella for induction into Order of St. Gregory the Great, a prestigious honor given to men and women for their service to the church, wh
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A shepherd who smelled like his sheep – Chicago faithful pay final respects to Cardinal George
Chicago, Ill., Apr 25, 2015 / 04:42 am
As Cardinal Francis George of Chicago was laid to rest Thursday, religious and lay members of the archdiocese revered him as a caring shepherd who wouldn't let cancer get in the way of his ministry.
Sister Mary Paul of the Daughters of Divine Love, an international women's religious order with a congregation in the Archdiocese of Chicago, recounted how Cardinal George's predecessor, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, had invited the order to Chicago. When he died in 1996, they didn't know what would happen next.
"When Cardinal George came in, he continued to be a father to us. He knows us personally and he calls us by name," she told CNA the night before the funeral.
Cardinal George passed away April 17 at age 78 after a years-long bout with cancer. He was Archbishop of Chicago from 1997 until his retirement in 2014.
That the late cardinal was a warm, fatherly figure to those who knew him was a common sentiment from many who attended prayer vigils for his repose, the Funeral Mass, and the subsequent funeral procession ending in his burial at All Saints Cemetery.
They described him as a man close to the people, evoking the image used by Pope
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