Black History Month: 7 pioneering African American clergy

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, February 14, 2021

Wilton Gregory

Atlanta Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory in this undated profile photo. | (Photo: Archdiocese of Atlanta and Michael Alexander)

Last October, Pope Francis announced Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C. as the first African American cardinal in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

Gregory previously served as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. During that time, he helped implement the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in response to the clergy sex abuse scandal.

“With a very grateful and humble heart, I thank Pope Francis for this appointment which will allow me to work more closely with him in caring for Christ’s Church,” Gregory said in a statement last year.