“I am fully vaccinated and boosted,” he explained. “I am experiencing no symptoms at this time and overall I feel quite well. Following my doctor’s guidance, I will now quarantine at home.”
Cardinal Gregory (Wilton Daniel Gregory), was born in Chicago, attended Loyola University and Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary, and was ordained in 1973. He went on to earn a Doctorate in Sacred Liturgy at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome in 1980, was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago in 1982, and installed as Bishop of Belleville, Illinois, in 1994.
As a bishop, Cardinal Gregory wrote extensively on Church issues and served as Vice President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for three years, followed by his election in 2001 as President of the Conference.
In 2004 Gregory was appointed as Archbishop of Atlanta by Pope John Paul II, and was appointed by Pope Francis in 2019 as Archbishop of Washington, succeeding Donald Cardinal Wuerl, who resigned amid allegations that he had covered up sexual misconduct among the clergy. In 2020 Pope Francis named Archbishop Gregory cardinal.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory is a three-time first: The first African American to serve as President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as Archbishop of Washington, and to be named a cardinal.
The Cardinal currently serves as a member of the Vatican Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life, and on the Board of Trustees for the Papal Foundation. Additionally, he is the Catholic Co-Chair of the National Council of Synagogues Consultation for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Cardinal Gregory, as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, is Chancellor of the Catholic University of America and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
Cardinal Gregory is not the first cardinal to be diagnosed with Covid19, although he does appear to be the first diagnosed with the Omicron variant.
Cardinal Philippe Ouedraogo of Burkina Faso and Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, both tested positive and recovered from Covid-19 in March of 2020. Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, President of the Italian Bishops Conference, was hospitalized with the virus in November of 2020; two cardinals who work closely with Pope Francis also contracted the virus in December of 2020: Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Pope’s almoner – the church officer in charge of distributing money to the poor and needy – and Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg tested positive in January of 2021, as did Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriquez Maradiaga in February of 2021. Cardinal Raymond Burke tested positive for Covid-19 in August of 2021 and was subsequently hospitalized and placed on a ventilator. In September of 2021, Philippine Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila tested positive, followed in October by the positive testing of Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco of Italy, after returning from the Eucharistic Conference in Hungary. Cardinal Bagnasco was fully vaccinated and was admitted to hospital in Genoa. All have recovered.
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
