Pope Francis names Cardinal McElroy archbishop of Washington

ROME — Pope Francis on Monday named Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego archbishop of Washington, tapping one of his most progressive allies to lead the Catholic Church in the U.S. capital at the start of the second Trump administration.

McElroy, 70, replaces Cardinal Wilton Gregory, who at 77 is two years past the normal retirement age for bishops.

The Vatican announced the appointment in a statement Monday.

Francis has long had his eye on McElroy, naming him bishop of San Diego in 2015 and then elevating him to cardinal in 2022.

McElroy is among a minority of U.S. bishops harshly criticizing the campaign to exclude from communion Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, a campaign Francis has publicly criticized by insisting bishops must be pastors and not politicians.

He also questioned why the US bishops’ conference, whose leadership is rather conservative, consistently insists on identifying abortion as its “preeminent” priority. He questioned why greater importance had not been given to issues such as racism, poverty, immigration and climate change.

He also expressed support for LGBTQ+ youth and denounced the bullying they often face, further aligning with Francis’ priorities as pope.

McElroy’s appointment to Washington comes just weeks after Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, nominated Brian Burch to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. Burch, president and co-founder of the advocacy group CatholicVote, has criticized Francis and some of his policies on social media.

Francis made the appointment ahead of his final meeting with President Joe Biden, who is making a final foreign trip to Italy this week. Biden emerged from a meeting with Francis in 2021 saying the pope told him to continue receiving communion despite his stance on abortion.

He then received the sacrament in a church in Rome.

The Archdiocese of Washington includes the District of Columbia and five Maryland counties: Montgomery, Prince George’s, St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles. It has a total population of 3,050,847 inhabitants, including 671,187 Catholics.