Wilton Gregory

Wilton Daniel Gregory Jr. (born December 7, 1947) is an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Washington from 2019 to 2025. Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2020, the first of African-American descent.

Gregory previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago from 1983 to 1994; as Bishop of Belleville from 1994 to 2004; and as Archbishop of Atlanta from 2005 to 2019.

Gregory was the first African-American president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) from 2001 to 2004. He led the USCCB in issuing the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" in response to the sexual abuse scandal in the American Catholic Church.

Wilton Gregory was born on December 7, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois, to Ethel (née Duncan) and Wilton Gregory Sr. One of three children, he has two sisters: Elaine and Claudia. Gregory's parents divorced when he was young, and his grandmother, Etta Mae Duncan, subsequently moved in with the family at their home on the South Side of Chicago.

In 1958, Gregory was enrolled at St. Carthage Grammar School, a parochial school in Chicago. He later said that he decided then to become a priest, even though he was not a Catholic. At 11-years-old, Gregory was baptized and received his first communion in 1959, and was confirmed by Bishop Raymond Hillinger later that year.

After graduating from St. Carthage in 1961, Gregory attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, a minor seminary in Chicago. He then went to Niles College in Chicago and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois.

At age 25, Gregory was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 9, 1973. After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned him as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Glenview, Illinois. In 1976, the archdiocese sent Gregory to Rome to begin graduate studies at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute at the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm. He completed his Doctor of Sacred Liturgy degree (SLD) there in 1980.

After returning to Illinois, Gregory was assigned to teach liturgy at Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary. He also served as a master of ceremonies under Cardinals John Cody and Joseph Bernardin.