Bishop Blase Cupich gives farewell Mass

Calling his 12-year tenure in Rapid City a "little touch of heaven," Bishop Blase Cupich said goodbye to the Catholics of western South Dakota at his farewell Mass and reception Sunday at Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Cupich, 61, will be installed as bishop of the debt-ridden Diocese of Spokane on Sept. 3, an appointment that saddened but didn't surprise people in Rapid City familiar with his skills as a diocesan administrator.

"I doubt there's a person in this room who didn't know this day was coming," Deacon John Osnes said during an emotional reception in the fellowship hall attended by hundreds of people.

Osnes said it has always been obvious to him that Cupich had "greater talents than the needs of this South Dakota diocese."

That those "Nebraska-born, Dakota-grown" gifts would be shared with the people of Spokane didn't make saying goodbye to Cupich any easier for Julie Mousel, who attended her second Mass of the weekend just to bid her shepherd farewell.

"I'm sad. I'm so sad," Mousel said.

It was fitting that the bishop's final Sunday sermon in his home cathedral - which is named for the Virgin Mary - was celebrated on the Feast of the Assumption. The feast day is named for a Catholic doctrine that says the mother of Jesus Christ was assumed bodily into heaven. And his sermon was also characteristic of Cupich. Instead of using the occasion to reflect on his time in Rapid City, he chose to preach a spiritual lesson on emulating Mary as a disciple of Christ.

"I could give you the top 10 accomplishments or the top 10 mistakes of my time here but you know both so well already," he said.

A litany of those accomplishments was provided in joint proclamations by Gov. Mike Rounds and Rapid City Mayor Alan Hanks, which named Aug. 15 as Bishop Blase Cupich Day in South Dakota, and by Diocese Chancellor Margaret Simonson.

After he was ordained bishop of Rapid City on Sept. 21, 1998, Cupich led the diocese through a synod process, built a retirement home for priests, published a history book celebrating its centennial, ordained 10 priests and 10 permanent deacons and confirmed more than 5,000 Catholics who now "share the faith that you practice so well," Simonson said.

His largest legacy to the diocese - Terra Sancta - is a project that will turn the former St. Martin Monastery building and grounds into a school and retreat center and "assure a Catholic footprint in the Black Hills for future generations."

He leaves that $12.5 million fundraising effort nearly finished and with renovations in the initial stages.

Nearly 20 of the diocese's priests and its seminarians joined Cupich on the altar for the Mass, acting as altar servers and Eucharistic ministers. A diocesan-wide choir filled the cathedral with music. Cupich said he was "so very touched, but not surprised, by the generosity" of many who drove great distances to be at the Mass.

As the service ended, his fellow priests gathered in the nave to applaud a "man of great vision" who provided many of them with support and compassion in their ministries, the Rev. Brian Fawcett said.

A new bishop is expected to be appointed by the Vatican in a year or more, following a lengthy process that includes nominations from other bishops and priests in the area. Until then, a diocesan administrator will be elected by a group of six priests, known as the college of consultors.

Wearing the symbols of his episcopacy - a mitre, the tall bishop's hat, and his crosier, the staff that all bishops carry - Cupich recalled one of his favorite Rapid City stories as the Mass ended.

A 3-year-old boy greeted him at church one day, and when Cupich asked the child if he wanted to wear "my big hat," the child gave it some thought before replying, "No, I want that big stick."

"Whoever gets this 'big stick' is going to be a very lucky person," Cupich said of the next bishop of the diocese. "This is wonderful place to be and, like I said in my homily, a touch of heaven to me."

---

Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com