Pope Francis Names Archbishop Wilton Gregory a Cardinal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pope Francis this morning named Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory a cardinal, along with 12 other new cardinals worldwide. He will be elevated to the College of Cardinals at a November 28 consistory at the Vatican.

Cardinal-elect Wilton Gregory released the following statement on the news from the Vatican this morning: “With a very grateful and humble heart, I thank Pope Francis for this appointment which will allow me to work more closely with him in caring for Christ’s Church.”

Archbishop Gregory, installed as Washington’s archbishop in May 2019, will become the first African American to be elevated to the College of Cardinals. A native of Chicago, the cardinal-elect turns 73 on December 7.

Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1973, he served as a parish priest in Chicago, and was ordained an auxiliary bishop of Chicago in 1983. In 1994, Bishop Gregory was installed as the bishop of Belleville, Illinois, where he served for 11 years, and then as archbishop of Atlanta in 2005, before his appointment as archbishop of Washington in 2019.

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