Count Louis Scalise among the excited. A loyal parishioner at St. Jerome, a Croatian ethnic parish located at 2823 S. Princeton Ave., Scalise was “elated” when word came in September that Bishop Blase Cupich of Spokane, Washington, would succeed the outgoing Cardinal George as head of the archdiocese of Chicago. Cupich’s Croatian heritage has been the source of much pride among Chicago-area Croatian Catholics like Scalise.

“It was a delightful surprise for all of us to hear one of our own would be the new archbishop,” Scalise said.

From the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac Croatian Catholic Mission, 6346 N. Ridge Ave., on the city’s far North Side to Sacred Heart Croatian, 2864 E. 96th St., deep on the city’s Southeast Side, Cupich’s arrival has been hailed as an energizing moment in local Croatian history, one on par with the election of Michael Bilandic as Chicago’s mayor in 1977.

“Croatian Catholics have been present in the archdiocese for more than a century and, finally, we have someone we can call our own,” said Father Jozo Grbes, head of the Chicagobased Croatian Franciscan Custody and former pastor at St. Jerome.

Croatian roots

Describing himself as “100 percent” Croatian, the 65-yearold Cupich grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, the grandson of four Croatian-born grandparents. Cupich, who has visited the European nation multiple times, quickly endeared himself to local Croatians and showed his genuine handle of his family’s Croatian heritage when he mentioned his love of two Croatian delicacies — sarma (cabbage roll) and povitica, a walnut pastry — during his introductory press conference.

“We’re a group that likes to keep in touch with our customs and our heritage and [Cupich] seems in tune with that,” Scalise says. “When he mentions sarma and povitica, we can immediately identify with him and it shows the deep ties he has to his Croatian roots.”

Grbes met the incoming archbishop two years ago during the annual Croatian Catholic Community pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

“You quickly get the impression that he is a kind and gentle man,” Grbes said of Cupich, who celebrated Mass during that 2012 pilgrimage. “When we heard he was the new archbishop, we were excited not just because of his Croatian origins, but also because of the positive feelings so many of us had when we met him in Washington, D.C.”

Likewise, Father Paul Maslach, pastor of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac Croatian Catholic Mission, has met the archbishop-elect numerous times and called him “very thoughtful, humble and approachable.”

“He’s a smart man with his own convictions and personality whom I’m sure knows he needs to take care of everyone throughout the archdiocese,” Maslach said. “That said, I hope he’ll recognize us and be with us because we’re excited to have him here.”

Excitement abounds

The Chicago metropolitan area is home to an estimated 250,000 Croatian Catholics with Croatian language liturgies available at St. Jerome, Sacred Heart Croatian, Holy Trinity Croatian, 1850 S. Throop St., and the Blessed Stepinac Mission. Though a small ethnic group compared to other, more entrenched groups in the Chicago area, the local Croatian community is heavily Catholic and seems universally energized by Cupich’s arrival.

Parishioners at St. Jerome and churchgoers at Blessed Stepinac are already eager to host Cupich and celebrate their Croatian heritage with the new archbishop.

“Everybody’s asking when he’ll be coming here,” Maslach said.

At St. Jerome, Scalise and many others are hopeful Cupich will attend the parish’s Assumption festival. Among the Chicago area’s largest Croatian celebrations, the all-day affair has been held every Aug. 15 for the last 107 years.

“We’re hoping and praying he’ll be with us in 2015 to celebrate and we’d certainly be honored to have his presence,” Scalise said, adding that the parish would prepare some sarma and povitica “just for him.”

Maslach, meanwhile, believes Cupich’s arrival can inspire evangelization and remind local Croatian Catholics of the rich, faithful traditions engrained in centuries of Croatian history.

“[Cupich’s] arrival has sparked so much excitement that I hope it revives the faith of many,” Maslach said. “He can be our shepherd.”