Atlanta Archbishop Moving to D.C.
Wilton Daniel Gregory, who has lead the Archdiocese of Atlanta for 14 years, was officially named the seventh Archbishop of Washington D.C. this morning.
His Excellency will be ordained May 21.
In a message to the Atlanta faithful, Archbishop Gregory said:
“In the fourteen years I have served as your Archbishop, it has been my privilege to correspond with you on many occasions–most of it imbued with the joy of serving Jesus Christ as part of this remarkable local Church; some, of course, less so. None up to now, however, has been more bittersweet and challenging for me to write and share with you.”
“This morning Pope Francis appointed me the seventh Archbishop of Washington. While I am humbled and honored by the confidence the Holy Father has placed in me, I regret that it brings to an end this truly blessed moment in my life as your Archbishop. I have asked you for many things during my time in Atlanta, and you have always responded with a boundless generosity of heart and spirit. My final request is for your prayers as I begin anew in Washington, D.C., even as I assure you of my prayers for you in return.”
He was a good pastor and will be missed.
BUT! There’s a silver lining to everything! Sources close to the Vatican say Pope Francis is “strongly considering” as a replacement: none other than your boy. (Me).
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Actually, Gregory will be “installed” (as Archbishop of Washington), not “ordained.” A bishop in the Catholic tradition (and I think this applies as well with Anglicanism and Eastern Orthodoxy) is ordained only once (when he is anointed and presented the traditional ceremonials associated with his position, the miter and the crozier). A bishop is not “re-ordained” if, as often happens, he is assigned to another diocese. Gregory himself will be on his fourth assignment, after serving as auxilary in Chicago and the diocesan of Belleville (Southern Illinois) and Atlanta. Incidentally, he is the first Atlanta archbishop to bishop to be transferred to another diocese, though some of his auxularies have become bishops elsewhere (like David Talley, the new bishop of Memphis, who served in Alexandria, Louisiana as diocesan and Atlanta as auxilary).