Since being named as the new archbishop of Washington by Pope Francis in April 2019, Cardinal Wilton Gregory has had an eventful 20 months, leading the Archdiocese of Washington through the coronavirus pandemic, speaking out strongly for racial justice, and expanding the archdiocese's child protection policies to include adults being protected against harassment, while focusing on his pastoral responsibilities of visiting parishes and schools and supporting Catholic outreach programs. And on Nov. 28, 2020 Pope Francis elevated Cardinal Gregory to the College of Cardinals during a Consistory in Rome. where he became the first African American cardinal in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States. 

Washington’s then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory smiles during the procession following his Mass of Installation at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on May 21, 2019.  (CS photo by Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Gregory sprinkles holy water on the congregation attending his Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral on May 26, 2019. (CS photo by Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Gregory knocks on the cathedral door with a mallet, before being welcomed inside for his first Mass as Washington's new archbishop on May 26, 2019. At left is Father Conrad Murphy, then his priest secretary . (CS photo by Andrew Biraj)

Graduating students from Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park, Maryland  hug during the sign of peace during a Mass on May 29, 2019, where then-Archbishop Gregory encouraged the students to follow their dreams and help build a better world . (CS photo by Andrew Biraj)

Liturgical dancers join members of the St. Augustine Gospel Choir and its Chorale at the Mass celebrated by then-Archbishop Gregory at the Washington parish on June 2, 2019. St. Augustine, the mother church of African American Catholics in the nation’s capital, was founded in 1858 by free men and women of color, including some people emancipated from slavery .  (CS photo by Andrew Biraj)

St. Augustine Catholic School students present then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory with a poster after Communion at the Mass that he celebrated at the historic church in Washington, D.C., on June 2, 2019. (CS photo by Andrew Biraj)

During an Ordination Mass at the National Shrine, then-Archbishop Gregory anoints the hands of newly ordained Father Ebuka Mbanude with chrism, one of 10 new priests whom he ordained for the Archdiocese of Washington on June 15, 2019. (CS photo by Andrew Biraj)

The nine candidates lay prostrate during a Mass of Ordination to the Permanent Diaconate at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on June 22, 2019. (CS photo by Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory kisses a baby, Lincoln Adeniran Moore, whom he baptized during a Mass at St. John the Baptist Parish in Silver Spring, Maryland. Ogechi Onyewu, the baby’s godmother, holds him during the ceremony on June 23, 2019. (CS photo by Mihoko Owada)

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the pope’s apostolic nuncio to the United States, confers the pallium, a lambs wool band, around the neck and over the shoulders of  then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory as a sign of his office as archbishop of Washington during a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington on July 14, 2019. (CS Photo by Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory was the special guest speaker at DC Catholic's monthly Theology on Tap, where the archbishop answered questions and listened to young adults of the Archdiocese of Washington on Aug. 13, 2019. (CS Photo by Andrew Biraj)

A family from Sacred Heart School in Washington presented the gifts to then-Archbishop Gregory (at right) during the Opening of Schools Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on August 26, 2019. The family members are parents George and Jennifer Flores with their daughters Isabella (at left), then a third-grader, and Sophie (at right), then a first-grader. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory greets the newly professed sisters during the Mass and perpetual vows for Servants of the Lord and  the Virgin of Matara in the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on Sept. 14, 2019. (CS Photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory greets a volunteer at the Mid-Maryland Mission of Mercy at the University of Maryland's Xfinity Center on Sept. 14, 2019, where volunteer dentists and hygienists provided free dental care to people in need. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory gives his homily to Elizabeth Seton High School students during a 60th anniversary Mass held at the Bladensburg, Maryland, school on Sept. 17, 2019. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

At the end of a Mass that he celebrated at St. Francis of Assisi Deaf Catholic Church in Landover Hills, Maryland, on Sept. 22, 2019, then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory holds up a statue of St. Francis of Assisi presented to him by Hiruni Hewapathirani, a student at Kendal Demonstration Elementary School who is deaf, as are her parents and brother. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory high-fives students at St. Peter School on Capitol Hill during a Sept. 27, 2019 gathering to celebrate St. Peter's being named as a National Blue Ribbon School for the second time. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Gregory receives offertory gifts of donated food for those in need from students at St. Anthony Catholic School in Washington, D.C., during a Thanksgiving Mass on Nov. 26, 2019. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then- Archbishop Wilton Gregory and Paula Gwynn Grant, Secretary of Communications for the Archdiocese of Washington, wave to the teens and young adults participating in the Archdiocese of Washington’s annual Youth Rally and Mass for Life at the Capital One Arena on Jan. 24, 2020.  In this photo, Grant spotted the group from her alma mater, the Academy of the Holy Cross in Kensington, Maryland. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory presided at the Good Friday liturgy of the Passion of the Lord on April 10, 2020 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., which did not have a congregation due to coronavirus restrictions then. (CS photos/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory lights the Paschal Candle held by Dominican Brother Justin Bulger during Easter Vigil at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on April 11, 2020. The Paschal Candle symbolizes how Christ is the light of the world. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Gregory gives his homily during the Easter Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. on April 12, 2020. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Gregory celebrates an Easter Sunday Mass on April 12, 2020 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception after celebrating at an Easter Mass earlier that day at St. Matthew's Cathedral.  (Archdiocese of Washington photo/Jaclyn Lippelmann)

Then-Archbishop Gregory offers a reflection during the prayer ceremony at the National Shrine when he joined bishops across the United States and Canada in reconsecrating their countries to the Blessed Mother on May 1, 2020. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

After celebrating a Pentecost Sunday Mass at Our Lady of the Wayside Church in Chaptico, Maryland on May 31, 2020 -- his first public Mass at a parish after coronavirus restrictions were eased in local jurisdictions -- then-Archbishop Gregory greeted the congregation outside. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory offers a sign of peace to newly ordained Father Nathanael Anderson during the Mass of Ordination at St. Catherine Laboure Church in Wheaton on June 20, 2020, where he ordained eight new priests and one new deacon for the Archdiocese of Washington. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then- Archbishop Wilton Gregory celebrates a Mass at St. Joseph Church in Largo, Maryland on June 28, 2020. (CS Photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory presides at the Chrism Mass on Sept. 14, 2020 at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, where he blessed the sacred oils that will be used at parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington . (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Then-Cardinal-designate Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, smiles as he is welcomed at the 250th anniversary Mass at Holy Angels Parish in Avenue, Maryland, on Oct. 25, 2020, on the morning when he was named as a new cardinal by Pope Francis. At right is his priest secretary, Father Charles Cortinovis. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

After celebrating a Nov. 2, 2020, All Souls Day Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., then-Cardinal-designate Wilton Gregory prays at the tombs of three former archbishops of Washington who are interred in a chapel there: Cardinals Patrick O’Boyle, William Baum and James Hickey. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Cardinal Wilton Gregory was welcome home to the Archdiocese of Washington on Dec. 3, 2020 as he was greeted with applause by about three dozen employees when his car pulled up to the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in Hyattsville, Maryland. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Cardinal Gregory poses during an official photo shoot on Dec. 3, 2020, after returning home from the Nov. 28 Consistory in Rome, where he was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)