A look back on Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory’s historic journey
A look back on Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory’s historic journey
WASHINGTON (OSV News) — As Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory made history on Nov. 28, 2020, by becoming the first African American cardinal in the Catholic Church, his reflections were often distant from Rome while he donned his red hat during the consistory at St. Peter’s Basilica.
He reminisced about that instance in a recent discussion with the Catholic Standard and the Spanish-language El Pregonero archdiocesan publications.
“When the Holy Father positioned the cardinal’s biretta on my head, the reflections that occupied my heart were reflections of my own family, my mom and dad striving to ensure a quality education for me and my two sisters,” he stated on Jan. 15. “My amazing grandmother, Etta Mae Duncan, who played such a crucial role in my development. I’ve mentioned this previously, she was a domestic worker. She served as a housekeeper to afford her grandchildren the chance to receive a good education.
“I reflected on the sacrifices that individuals have given in my own life,” he said, “but also the sacrifices that African American Catholics, Catholics of color, have made in their devotion to our church, their affection for our church, their loyalty to the Catholic community that they cherish and have cherished throughout their lives.”
He also reflected on history. “How did I arrive at this point? How did this moment come to be for me?”
And he reflected on “how appreciative I am to have enjoyed the fruits of faith that were made feasible by individuals in my own life, but (also by) those whom I have never met, yet were devoted Catholics who have become enamored with the Catholic Church “and that I coincidentally happened to be the one to enjoy the rewards of their affection and their commitment.”
On Oct. 25, 2020, on the morning when Pope Francis announced the elevation of then-Archbishop Gregory among 13 new cardinals slated for the Nov. 28 consistory, he expressed in a statement, “With a deeply appreciative and modest heart, I extend my thanks to Pope Francis for this appointment that will enable me to collaborate more closely with him in serving Christ’s Church.”
That morning, Cardinal-designate Gregory officiated a Mass commemorating the 250th anniversary for Holy Angels Parish in Avenue, situated close to St. Clement’s Island in Southern Maryland, the site where the inaugural Catholic Mass in the English-speaking colonies took place in 1634.
‘I’m deeply humbled’
Following that Mass, he was questioned about what his appointment to the College of Cardinals signified for him on a personal level, being the inaugural African American cardinal in the United States, and what that would signify for the country as a whole. Black Catholics.
Cardinal-designate Gregory’s voice faltered a bit as he expressed, “I am profoundly humbled. I recognize that I am gathering the fruits of a labor that countless African American Catholics and individuals of color have sown. I am immensely thankful for the faith they have demonstrated so generously, so fervently, and with such immense dedication.”
He expressed that he viewed his appointment as “yet another chance to serve and to support the church and to bring the Church (of Washington) into closer alignment with Pope Francis.”
He remarked, “I trust this indicates the ongoing commitment of the church to the pursuit of justice, peace, and unity among individuals.”
Cardinal Gregory was appointed as the archbishop of Washington in May 2019. On January 6, 2025, Pope Francis approved his resignation; at 77, he is two years beyond the age at which canon law mandates bishops to offer their resignation to the pope. Pope Francis has designated Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of San Diego as his replacement. He is set to be installed on March 11.
Cardinal Gregory converted to Catholicism and was motivated to pursue the priesthood after attending St. Carthage School in his hometown of Chicago in 1958. The young Wilton was baptized and made his first Communion in 1959, and he was confirmed later that same year.
Following his graduation from St. Carthage in 1961, he enrolled in the seminary and was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1973. He obtained a doctorate in sacred liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome in 1980. Three years afterward, he was consecrated as an auxiliary bishop of Chicago; at the age of 34, he became the youngest Catholic bishop in the U.S.
From 1994-2005, Bishop Gregory led the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois. In 2001, he was chosen as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops following three years as vice president. In 2002, during his tenure, disclosures of clergy sexual misconduct and the ensuing cover-up surfaced, impacting the entire U.S. church. Under his guidance, the bishops initiated the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”
Honoring the heritage of African American Catholics
St. John Paul II designated Bishop Gregory as the archbishop of Atlanta, where he was inaugurated in 2005, and Pope Francis selected him as the seventh archbishop of Washington in 2019. At that time, Archbishop Gregory made history as the first African American archbishop of Washington.
During one of his initial parish visits as the new archbishop of Washington, he officiated a Mass at St. Augustine Church, which was established in 1858 by free men and women of color, some of whom were freed from slavery. It is recognized as the mother church for African American Catholics in the capital of the nation.
When the former Archbishop Gregory emerged in the threshold of St. Augustine At the church that morning for the Mass, attendees erupted in cheers and offered him an unprompted standing ovation.
During his sermon on that day, then-Archbishop Gregory recognized St. Augustine’s background and “how it is linked to the sacred legacy of African American Catholics.”
“I am on sacred ground, just as each of you is when you come together every Sunday for the Eucharist,” he remarked, continuing, “Today, a son of the African diaspora is present among you as the leader of the whole community of faith that is the Archdiocese of Washington.”
Following the announcement of Cardinal Gregory’s promotion to the College of Cardinals in 2020, local Catholics were surveyed for a “Black Catholics VoicesThe multimedia series for the Catholic Standard expressed happiness at his selection as the inaugural African American cardinal.
An ‘extremely significant occasion’
Father Robert Boxie IIIThe Catholic chaplain at Howard University in Washington remarked that the appointment acknowledged Cardinal Gregory’s pastoral guidance and his contributions to the church in the United States.
It was additionally an acknowledgment that “the belief, the efforts, the testimony, the experiences of Black Catholics genuinely carry weight, and that’s a significant perspective and a vital gift to the universal church,” the priest remarked. “The perspective of Black Catholics will now be that much nearer to the Holy Father. It will now reside in the core of the Church in Rome, in the Vatican.”
Sister Patricia Chappell, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and the past president of the National Black Sisters’ Conference, referred to Cardinal Gregory’s promotion as “a truly historic occasion,” and commended the newly appointed cardinal as “a man who genuinely listens to the community, a man who is deeply rooted in his faith, and a man who will walk alongside the people.”
In his role as the archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Gregory aimed to serve as a shepherd to everyone within the archdiocese, focusing his ministry on conducting Masses at parishes and Catholic educational institutions.
He dedicated his efforts to promote healing following the clergy abuse crisis and guided the archdiocese during the COVID-19 pandemic. By exemplifying Catholic doctrine regarding the dignity of human life at every stage, Cardinal Gregory officiated a Youth Mass for Life prior to the annual March for Life, and he likewise voiced his opposition to the death penalty.
The cardinal additionally commemorated a yearly Mass paying tribute to the life and contributions of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and during his guidance, the archdiocese initiated a 2020 pastoral effort, “Made in God’s Image: Pray and Work to End this Sin of Racism,” along with a 2021 strategy derived from Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si“environmental encyclical.”
“He showed the church in the United States that Black Catholics possess much to contribute to the church from the talents bestowed upon us by God, and he’s a superb example of that,” stated Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., who also holds the position of president of the National Black Catholic Congress.
Offering a feeling of possibility
In a 2021 conversation, one year following his promotion to the College of CardinalsCardinal Gregory was inquired whether being the inaugural African American cardinal presented any difficulties.
“I continually sense that if I remain near to the Lord in my prayer life, at the very least (remaining) on the right course … being the initial one presents a chance to unite the church more closely across different cultures and races,” he stated.
In his latest discussion with the Catholic Standard and El Pregonero, he contemplated the many chances he’s been afforded “to be the first,” expressing his desire “to ensure that I recognize that whatever legacy I create will be accessible for the second, for the third, for the fifth, who will, in God’s own timing and with God’s own grace, take on the duties that I’ve been privileged to hold.”
“I wish that my attendance in the Archdiocese of Washington, since I was in Atlanta and Belleville and Chicago, I trust that I offered a chance for individuals not only in a manner of pride but also in a way of opportunity, allowing the youth to envision a world that they can enrich with their own aspirations and with their own potential,” he stated.
“I aspire that my administration has broadened the outlooks for many of our youth, allowing them to recognize opportunities that past generations of young individuals never even imagined.”
