Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, a St. Thomas alumnus from the class of 1971, was named one of 17 new cardinals by Pope Francis on Sunday.

Cupich said his appointment was “humbling and encouraging” and said he hoped that despite the new responsibilities, he and his flock would “continue the task we have begun of renewing the church in the archdiocese and preparing it to thrive in the decades ahead.”

Cupich succeeded Cardinal Francis George as archbishop of Chicago in 2014,  an archdiocese that serves 2.2 million parishioners and is the third-largest diocese in the country. This nomination was Francis’ first major U.S. appointment, and Cupich was a Francis appointee at the pope’s big family synod last year.

Cupich is a native of Omaha, Nebraska, where he was ordained a priest. He also holds degrees from Pontifical Gregorian University and the Catholic University of America. He was appointed bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1998, and he served there until 2010, when he was appointed to Spokane, Washington. Cupich also holds an honorary doctorate from St. Thomas.

St. Thomas President Julie Sullivan said seeing a St. Thomas alum appointed to such a prestigious position is reason to celebrate for the St. Thomas community.

“It is certainly a source of celebration and pride for the University of St. Thomas and for our alumni to see one of our own Tommies elevated to one of the highest levels in our church,” Sullivan said. She added that recent interactions, such as an alumni lunch in Chicago last year and bestowing Cupich with an honorary degree earlier this year, have tightened the relationship between Cupich and St. Thomas.

The other new U.S. “princes” of the church include outgoing Dallas Bishop Kevin Farrell, whom Francis tapped in August to head the Vatican’s new family and laity office.

“Wow. I guess we are back!” marveled U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Hackett, a reference to the dearth of U.S. cardinal appointees in recent years.

Of the new cardinals, Cupich is very much a pastor in Francis’ likeness, emphasizing the merciful and welcoming side of the church — to the dismay of some U.S. conservative Catholics.

Pope Francis added like-minded prelates from dioceses big and small to the club who will elect the next pope in a clear signal to the conservative U.S. church hierarchy that Francis wants moderate pastors at the helm of the U.S. church.

The U.S. appointments also sent a more subtle political message, weeks before the U.S. election, with the surprise pick of Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph Tobin.

Tobin has openly opposed efforts by Indiana Gov. Michael Pence, now Donald Trump’s running mate, to bar Syrian refugees from being resettled in the state. A U.S. federal appeals court recently used stinging language in a ruling that will prevent the Republican vice presidential candidate from barring refugee resettlement in Indiana for now.

Francis has made the plight of refugees one of the hallmarks of his papacy, even bringing a dozen Syrian refugees home with him from Lesbos, Greece. He has asserted that anyone who wants to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to keep out migrants — as Trump has proposed — is “not Christian.”

“You can find a political message” in the Tobin appointment, said Massimo Faggioli, a Villanova University expert on the Vatican and former St. Thomas faculty member.

As is Francis’ tradition, the new cardinals hail from some of the most far-flung and peripheral corners of the globe: Bangui, Central African Republic; Port Louis, Mauritius and Tlalnepantla, Mexico.

Significantly, only one Italian elector was named: Francis’ ambassador to “the beloved and martyred Syria,” Cardinal-elect Mario Zenari.

Thirteen of the new cardinals, including all the Americans, are under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in a future conclave to elect Francis’ successor, the key job of a cardinal. Francis will elevate all 17 at a ceremony Nov. 19, on the eve of the closure of his Holy Year of Mercy.

In all, seven countries that have never had a cardinal are getting one in this, the third batch of red-hatted churchmen named by Latin America’s first-ever pope. Despite the new nominations, though, Europe still has the most voting-age cardinals with 54.

“The geographical diversity is in keeping with the trajectory of recent popes to expand the global representation in the College of Cardinals to reflect the fact that the Church is universal, not simply European,” said Mark Brumley, president of Ignatius Press, the leading English-language publisher of both Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI and Francis.

Speaking Sunday at the end of a special Mass on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis said the 11 nations represented in the mix “announces and is witness to the good news of the mercy of God in every corner of the world.”

The new cardinals will bring the number of voting-age prelates to 120 by the end of November, the maximum allowed under current rules. Francis has appointed 44 of them, or just over a third.

Francis has made it a point to no longer automatically name cardinals from big dioceses as had been the practice for centuries. The Italian cities of Venice and Turin, for example, have been without cardinals for several years.

The same goes for the U.S., where such staunchly Catholic archdioceses as Philadelphia, which hosted Francis last year at the Catholic Church’s big family rally, was passed over again. Philadelphia is headed by the conservative Archbishop Charles Chaput, who has insisted on traditional church doctrine on issues such as whether civilly remarried couples can receive Communion — areas where Francis has sought greater flexibility.

“It’s a clear message to the United States Catholic bishops about the kind of church Francis has in mind,” Faggioli said.

Another promotion with a St. Thomas tie is with Bishop Paul Etienne, from the St. Thomas class of 1986, who is being elevated in the church to become the archbishop of Anchorage, Alaska.