April 10--Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich will deliver the commencement speech at Boston College's graduation May 18, the university announced Thursday.
"Archbishop Blase Cupich is a champion for the economically and socially disenfranchised," university spokesman Jack Dunn said. "Who he is and what he stands for resonates with students on this campus."
Dunn said the university invited Cupich shortly after his installation last November. He said the fact that Cupich is the first prominent appointment by Pope Francis -- a popular pontiff who happens to be Jesuit -- made him an appropriate speaker for the Jesuit college.
A spokeswoman for the Chicago Archdiocese said Boston College is the only university where Cupich will give a commencement address this year.
At the ceremony, Cupich also will receive an honorary degree. There are no requirements or expectations for the speech, Dunn said.
"We ask speakers to impart a message on a topic that's important to them," Dunn said, "as they address 4,000 undergraduates who are about to make a mark on the world."
mbrachear@tribpub.com
