On Nov. 28, 2020 when Pope Francis elevated 13 new cardinals from around the world – including Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, the archbishop of Washington – the pontiff reminded the new cardinals of the importance of remaining as “a pastor close to your people.”
Returning home from Rome, Cardinal Wilton Gregory carried out a busy year of doing just that – celebrating Masses at parishes, visiting schools and supporting outreach programs in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, amid safety protocols necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
And on Nov. 28, 2021 – exactly one year after he was made a cardinal by Pope Francis – Cardinal Gregory was again presiding at Mass, for the First Sunday of Advent at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in downtown Washington, at an annual Mass for the Association of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities, various Catholic groups that have a special focus on witnessing to and sharing their faith.
After the Mass, Cardinal Gregory in an interview with the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard newspaper and website reflected on his first year as a cardinal, and on recent issues facing Catholics.
Asked his reaction to his one-year anniversary as a cardinal, he said, “Well, the time has flown so quickly, and I’ve had so many moments during this past year where I was particularly grateful for the opportunity to serve the Church in this new position. It really hasn’t changed my ordinary daily routine. I’m still the archbishop of Washington, there are still meetings to go to. There are still activities that bring me into the various parishes. That brings much joy to my heart.”
Two days before last year’s Consistory, Cardinal Gregory had a surprise invitation from Pope Francis, whom he was able to join for a Thanksgiving Day dinner that included pasta. Due to the pandemic, the Consistory itself was on a much smaller scale than usual, with each new cardinal only joined by his priest secretary, and only about 100 people in the congregation at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Asked what he remembered most about the Consistory, Cardinal Gregory said, “It was the experience of being inside St. Peter’s with the Holy Father. I had been in St. Peter’s many, many different times for other ceremonies including being a Communion priest at a ceremony, a canonization that Pope Paul VI did while I was still a student in Rome, so I had been in St. Peter’s on many occasions, but certainly the Consistory was a special event because it wasn’t just a visit to St. Peter’s, it was an encounter with today’s Peter.”
Washington’s cardinal archbishop added that, “I have to say I felt over the past year particularly close to Pope Francis, although I haven’t seen him since the ceremony of the Consistory. That closeness was intensified when he went to Iraq for that visit (in March 2021), how proud I was of his witness of faith and fraternity. Then I was obviously concerned about him when he had his surgery last July, (and concerned about) his recovery. When I went back to Rome this past fall for the ordination of the deacons from the North American College at St. Peter’s, I also claimed my titular church (the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in the Grottarossa neighborhood of northern Rome), and that gave me an intense experience of being a priest of the Diocese of Rome, because that’s what those titular churches symbolize. I have a parish in Rome that unites me to those wonderful people, but in a special way to Pope Francis.”
With his elevation to the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Gregory also made history, as he became the first African American cardinal.
Reflecting on his feelings about that one year later, Cardinal Gregory said, “The African American community – through so many notes and cards and letters and emails and text messages – has been so supportive. They have expressed both support and affection, but they’ve also renewed in my heart the deep faith that is to be found within the African American community, a faith that has been tested at times, but that remains strong and vibrant.”
Asked about being the first African American cardinal, he said, “I’ve been the first on a number of occasions. I was the first African American auxiliary bishop for Chicago, the first African American bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, the first African American president of the conference of bishops, so I had that experience.” In 2001, then-Bishop Gregory was elected as the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and under his leadership, the nation’s bishops responded to the escalating crisis of clergy sex abuse by implementing the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”
And after being asked if being the first African American cardinal posed any challenges, Cardinal Gregory added, “I always feel that if I stay close to the Lord in my prayer life, at least (staying) on the right path, that being the first is an opportunity to draw the Church closer together across cultures and races.”
In mid-November, the nation’s Catholic bishops held their annual fall meeting in Baltimore, where they approved a statement on Communion that had drawn controversy in the months leading up to the gathering, as some Catholic bishops and commentators expressed hope that the document would address whether Catholic political leaders who support abortion rights, like President Joseph Biden, should receive Communion when they publicly oppose a key Church teaching. The document approved by the bishops did not specifically call out Catholic political leaders, instead emphasizing the meaning and seriousness of the sacrament.
“I think that the anticipatory coverage, which always sets a stage, raised extraordinarily complex questions. I think the statement was about as appropriate as we could provide, given the climate that we were dealing with,” Cardinal Gregory said.
Asked about the controversy raised as the document was being prepared, about the worthiness of Catholic politicians receiving Communion, the cardinal added, “I think personally that issue should never be a source of division for us. I know it has become (that) for some people that have strong feelings one way or the other. It’s a sad statement when the Eucharist which is to be the sacrament of unity is used as a divisive expression.”
Along with the statement on Communion, the U.S. bishops approved a three-year Eucharistic revival that will culminate with a National Eucharistic Congress in 2024 in Indianapolis. Cardinal Gregory called those actions “a primary step to help our people regain an awareness of the importance and the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the Church. Hopefully Catholics throughout the nation will stop and reflect on the great mystery of Christ being present, body, soul and divinity in the Eucharist. If Catholics were confused or unaware of that central mystery, I hope both the conversation that preceded it and the issuance of the document itself and the follow-up with the events that will occur over the next couple years will increase our awareness of the great mystery that we have in the Eucharist.”
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington in August launched a Laudato Si’ action plan, inspired by Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical on the environment. The action plan includes practical ways that parishes, Catholic schools and institutions, and individuals and families can care for creation.
In the interview, Cardinal Gregory reflected on why that issue is important to him.
“People the world over are very much aware and increasingly aware that the Earth and its vitality is a given responsibility that we all have, to make sure that the resources are protected and that the good things of this Earth are preserved for the next generation,” the cardinal said. He said Laudato Si’ offers a roadmap for Catholics “to do our part in preserving the security and the safety of the planet that we share with all other people.”
In the days after Thanksgiving in 2021, the media reported on a new strain of the COVID-19 virus, the omicron variant, reported in South Africa and other nations that may be highly transmissible, causing the United States and other countries to impose travel restrictions as a precaution. Asked about his advice to his family of faith regarding COVID-19, Cardinal Gregory said, “I’ve tried to say this in many different venues and in many different ways, but I certainly want our people to follow all of the protocols that will ensure their safety. I want people to take the vaccines. It’s so clear that those who are vaccinated certainly have an advantage. We don’t know how great the advantage will be, because this is a new variant, but it hopefully will protect them.”
Cardinal Gregory added that “in many respects, I’m a father of this community,” and he said like any father, he wants to protect the members of his family.
Regarding the greatest challenge he has faced during the pandemic as pastor of his family of faith in his archdiocese, the cardinal said, “Not being able to be in touch with them in ways that I have experienced in the past, to be able to hug, to support, to encourage and to sing with (them), the distance, the distance that this pandemic has imposed on all of us.”
