Catholic leaders 'trash talk' over Stanley Cup Finals
Chicago pizza and Florida grapefruit are the spoils, as the leaders of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of St. Petersburg pledge that the loser of the Stanley Cup Finals will ship iconic foods from their city to the other.
They aren't above a little trash talk, either.
Archbishop Blase J. Cupich has promised enough Chicago deep dish pizzas to feed the 300 guests of Pinellas Hope, a shelter for homeless individuals in Clearwater, Florida.
"Heaven knows there is no ice in Tampa," said Archbishop Cupich. "So while it is a long shot, we promise to send our real pizzas south in the unlikely event Chicago loses."
Bishop Robert N. Lynch has offered to ship cases of Florida grapefruit to St. Leo's Residence for Veterans, a Chicago Catholic Charities ministry, if the Tampa Bay Lightning team is defeated.
"Chicago could use some Florida sunshine," said Bishop Lynch. "If by some miracle the Blackhawks win, we will send our beautiful grapefruit to the veterans at St. Leo's Residence."
The Diocese of St. Petersburg includes five counties on the west central Gulf Coast of Florida and has a Catholic population of the diocese of nearly 400,000. Pinellas Hope, a ministry of Catholic Charities, is a temporary emergency shelter that offers its residents privacy and a safe place to sleep while they are at work and helps make the transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency. Since its inception in December 2007, Pinellas Hope has assisted more than 1,800 individuals. For more information see www.pinellashope.org.
Archbishop Blase J. Cupich is the head of the Archdiocese of Chicago, the third largest archdiocese in the United States with more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties. St. Leo's Residence, located in Chicago's Auburn Gresham neighborhood, keeps veterans safe, off the streets and treated with dignity. The integration of services offered there helps stabilize and improve the lives of formerly homeless veterans. For more information see www.catholiccharities.net.