Tribal member hosts the pope
Archbishop Charles Chaput, a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, hosted Pope Francis on Saturday and Sunday during the pope’s visit to Philadelphia, it was reported.
Chaput, who was named to lead the Archdiocese of Philadelphia four years ago, served as the pope’s host as he traveled to and from events in the city.
Pope Francis arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday morning, and a mass was held at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.
The pope then visited Independence Mall and paraded around the city, stopping to visit the Festival of Families.
On Sunday, Pope Francis met with bishops at St. Martin’s Chapel in St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. He then visited the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. Mass was held in the afternoon at Benjamin Franklin Parkway to conclude the World Meeting of Families event.
Chaput told the local CBS affiliate in Philadelphia that the papal visit was “a gift that will have a lasting impact.”
He also told reporters that the pope was touched by his visit to Philadelphia.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is home to nearly 1.5 million Roman Catholics and is one of the U.S. church’s most historically important posts.
Chaput was born in 1944 in Concordia. He attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Grade School in Concordia and St. Francis Seminary High School in Victoria.
Chaput’s maternal grandmother was the last member of his family to live on the Prairie Band Potawatomi reservation, but he was enrolled in the tribe at a young age.
His parents were Marian (DeMarais) and Joseph Chaput, and his siblings are Jolene Harper and Gerald Chaput. His grandmother was Adelaide Keegan, and his great-grandmother was Adelaide Bourdon. His great-great-grandmother was Judith Navarre.
He was ordained into the priesthood in 1970.
Chaput was appointed bishop of Rapid City, S.D., and also became the second Native American to be ordained a bishop in the United States. He became the first Native American ordained an archbishop nine years later.
In April 2008, Chaput presided over a special mass at Our Lady of the Snows Church on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation.
Chaput is the author of three books, “Living the Catholic Faith: Rediscovering the Basics,” “Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life” and “A Heart on Fire: Catholic Witness and the Next America.”
Prior to the pope’s visit, Chaput gave an interview to The Washington Post where he shared his thoughts on the pope and the future of the Catholic faith.
“I do strongly feel that Christians individually and the Church, as a community, should engage the issues of public life as part of their discipleship. That’s just common sense. Religion confined to the home and the local parish is too tame to change anything, let alone the world – which is what Jesus calls us to do,” he was quoted.
In the interview, Chaput said he was “very surprised” that Philadelphia was chosen as one of the stops on the pope’s visit to the United Sates.
“The Church in Philadelphia is an icon; a flagship of the Catholic experience in the United States,” he said. “So I hope the pope’s visit to Philadelphia will do two things: remind us that America is one continent, with one people north and south; and set our hearts on fire to become the missionaries that a new era in the Church requires.”
Chaput said that the Catholic belief is a message of love and meeting people where they are at. It’s also about speaking truth with love. He said the pope exemplifies those characteristics.
“The American bishops love the pope – every pope, and certainly this pope – as a brother and universal pastor of the Church,” he said. “In the Catholic tradition, the pope stands in our midst to ensure fidelity to the faith of the Church and to make certain that we forget no one’s needs, focus on the poorest of the poor – who include the unborn child, by the way — and remain in communion with the rest of the Church. So we should be very comfortable with the leadership of Francis. He’s a gift to the whole Church.”
