Cardinal Blase Cupich Visits Hurricane Survivors in Puerto Rico

An overhead view of Puerto Rico in late September, following damage caused by Hurricane Maria.An overhead view of Puerto Rico in late September, following damage caused by Hurricane Maria.

Cardinal Blase Cupich is in Puerto Rico visiting with the survivors of Hurricanes Maria and Irma.

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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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