Celebrating Black History – His Eminence Wilton Cardinal Gregory
The oldest with two sisters, Wilton Daniel Gregory was born in Chicago on December 7, 1947, to Wilton Gregory Sr. and Ethel Duncan. Although he was not Catholic, Wilton decided in grammar school that he wanted to become a priest and at age 11, he converted to Catholicism.
On May 9, 1973, Wilton Gregory became an ordained priest. He served as an associate pastor, seminary instructor, and assistant to John Cardinal Cody and Joseph Cardinal Bernardin in Illinois. Ten years later, in December 1983, he was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago and became the youngest Catholic bishop in the nation at age 34. He was then installed as Bishop of Belleville, IL in 1994, where he served for 11 years.
As bishop, he wrote on church issues, served on several church committees and was vice president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops for three years before being named President for another three years. Bishop Gregory also helped define a policy that would protect children from abuse. He continuously works to improve the religious life of African American Catholics.
In 2004, Pope Saint John Paul II appointed Bishop Gregory as the sixth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta and then in 2019, Pope Francis appointed him as the seventh Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington. This marked the first time an African American would hold this title.
Pope Francis then named Archbishop Gregory as the first African American Cardinal for the Catholic Church on October 25, 2020.
His Eminence Wilton Cardinal Gregory attained his doctorate in liturgy from the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm in Rome. He studied philosophy at Niles College and theology at Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary. Cardinal Gregory has received nine honorary doctorates.
Did You Know?
There are five African American Catholics who are being proposed for Sainthood. They are Pierre Toussaint (New York), Henriette DeLille (New Orleans), Mary Elizabeth Lange (Baltimore), Augustin Tolton (Chicago), and Julia Greeley (Denver).
