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His Eminence Wilton Cardinal Gregory was born December 7, 1947 in Chicago and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 9, 1973. Three years after his ordination began graduate studies at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute (Sant’ Anselmo) in Rome earning his doctorate in sacred liturgy in 1980. Having served in parish ministry and on the faculty of the seminary, he was ordained an auxiliary bishop of Chicago on December 13, 1983.
 
On February 10, 1994, he was installed as the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, IL where he served for the next eleven years.

On December 9, 2004, Pope Saint John Paul II appointed Bishop Gregory as the sixth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and he was installed on January 17, 2005. Pope Francis appointed him as the seventh Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington on April 4, 2019. He was installed on May 21, 2019. On October 25, 2020, Pope Francis named Archbishop Gregory one of thirteen new cardinals from around the world. Cardinal Gregory was elevated by Pope Francis to the College of Cardinals in a November 28, 2020 Consistory in Rome.
 
Cardinal Gregory is our nation’s first African-American Cardinal and has written and spoken extensively on church issues, including the death penalty, social justice, and euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide. He has published numerous articles on the subject of liturgy, particularly in the African-American community.

Cardinal Gregory has served in many leading roles in the U.S. church, including the USCCB President 2001-2004, and now on the international level as a Cardinal, he serves as a Member of the Vatican Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and on the Board of Trustees for the Papal Foundation.