Queen of Peace and Mother McAuley basketball players recently had a special visitor — Archbishop Blase Cupich.
Cupich attended a basketball game between the two high schools at Queen of Peace, 7659 Linder Avenue in Burbank.
Queen of Peace reached out to the Cupich through the archdiocese to see if he would like to share the special day with them filled with a fun team rivalry.
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The Cupich agreed. The McAuley game was chosen because of the fun spirit and competitiveness of the game between the two local area high schools, Queen of Peace officials said.
Cupich not only shared a blessing with the two girls’ teams prior to the game but stayed to enjoy the game.
“I am very happy to be here and I wish both teams the best of luck,” Cupich said.
“We are delighted that the Archbishop has chosen to spend time at Queen of Peace,” said Anne O’Malley, president of Queen of Peace. “It is wonderful for our students to have the chance to share their love of Queen of Peace with his Excellency…
We always enjoy playing Mother McAuley and are excited to share this experience with their fans as well.”
Cupich was scheduled to attend the International Day of Peace Mass in September at the school, however, due to a conflict, was unable to attend.
With so many attendees, consisting of Queen of Peace and Mother McAuley parents and friends, the event was unfortunately not open to the public due to lack of space in the school’s gymnasium, according to Amy Lapinski, Queen of Peace High School’s director of communication.
“This is Archbishop’s first visit but we have previously had cardinals celebrate mass at Queen of Peace,” Lapinski said. “Our students, faculty and staff are thrilled to welcome the Archbishop to Queen of Peace. All members of the Queen of Peace families were very excited to come out to support the pride and show the Archbishop our gratitude for his visit.”
Mother McAuley ended up winning 60-54.
Kelly White is a freelance reporter at the Daily Southtown.