With the retirement of Cardinal Wilton Gregory looming, rumors about the next Archbishop of Washington have reached a fever pitch among both bishops and Church-watchers.
After months of speculation about the process of appointing a prelate to lead the Church in the nation’s capital, several U.S. bishops have told The Pillar in recent days that they expect an announcement as soon as next week — with San Diego’s Cardinal Robert McElroy again tipped to take the capital see.
If true, McElroy’s appointment would be a stunning reversal from Rome, where Pope Francis had previously dismissed McElroy as a candidate for the role, and directed a streamlined process to identify the next Washington diocesan bishop.
But even while rumors of a McElroy appointment have pinged across the Church this weekend, it is unclear whether they reflect reality, or are instead the latest chapter in years of expectation that Southern California’s cardinal will eventually migrate to cooler climes.
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Cardinal Gregory, 77, was in 2019 appointed to lead the Washington archdiocese in the wake of the Theodore McCarrick scandal and the retirement of the controversial Cardinal Donald Wuerl from Washington’s archdiocese.
Gregory’s tenure in Washington has been met with mixed reviews, and while the cardinal has gotten some nods of recognition from Pope Francis, he does not seem to have enjoyed the same kind of access or influence at the Roman Curia as other American cardinals, most especially Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago.
In fact, The Pillar reported in November that Gregory was left out of an October papal conversation arranged by Cupich, in which Cupich and Newark’s Cardinal Joseph Tobin presented McElroy, 70, as a replacement for Gregory in D.C.
The Pillar confirmed with Vatican sources that Francis initially responded with skepticism to that proposal — which was opposed by apostolic nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre. The Pillar also confirmed that as an alternative approach, Francis directed Cardinal Donal Wuerl to find a different candidate for Washington, breaking a deadlock between Pierre and Cupich.
Wuerl proposed Missouri’s Bishop Shawn McKnight for the post, reportedly gaining support from both Gregory and the apostolic nunciature for that proposal in November.
But sources close to the Dicastery for Bishops now say McKnight has not been offered the Archdiocese of Washington office.
And in recent days, several U.S. bishops have told The Pillar that McElroy is again expected to get the post, and soon — with some predicting an announcement as soon as next week. If true, that would likely suggest that Cupich pressed his case at the Apostolic See, seemingly gaining the pope’s nod for his proposed appointment.
Some bishops have told The Pillar their expectation that Francis was ultimately convinced to put McElroy in Washington after the presidential election, with the cardinal’s outspoken rhetoric on immigration thought to be a useful ecclesiastical foil to incoming U.S. president Donald Trump.
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The Pillar has not confirmed the wildfire U.S. McElroy rumor with Vatican sources. And the re-emerging rumors about McElroy could be just the latest round of speculation that the cardinal is not long for San Diego.
Since he became a cardinal in 2022, both Church-watchers and bishops have seemed incredulous that Pope Francis would leave a cardinal in the suffragan Diocese of San Diego, despite its sizable Catholic population.
In the U.S., McElroy’s name has previously been tied to the possibility of appointment in Boston, and even to one-time speculation that the cardinal might have become a prefect at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Despite his often-controversial theological perspectives, and concern about how McElroy responded to a 2016 warning about McCarrick, McElroy’s name is floated in recent years every time a traditional cardinalatial see is on the verge of opening.
Still, reports persist among American bishops this week that McElroy is headed for the federal city. Some repeat those reports with eager anticipation, others with a sense of foreboding — depending upon their own theological commitments, of course.
Reversals happen in the Church’s life. And if he does get the nod, the McElroy appointment would convey a great deal about how the power of appointment politics is actually distributed among the board of ecclesiastical stakeholders and influencers.
If he doesn’t, the only thing proven will be the pervasive power of rumors to take hold in the life of the Church — especially when they involve big name bishops in suffragan sees.
