Wealth Of Experience Marks Archbishop’s Life

Published: December 16, 2004

Archbishop Wilton Gregory kneels before the Blessed Sacrament as he pauses for a brief prayer inside the St. Pius X High School chapel. (Photos by Michael Alexander)

ATLANTA—As the sixth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, 57, begins his new role with a wealth of experience.

Born Dec. 7, 1947, in Chicago to parents Wilton Sr. and Ethel Duncan Gregory, Archbishop Gregory attended St. Carthage Grammar School, where he converted to Catholicism. He then attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, Niles College (now St. Joseph’s College Seminary) of Loyola University and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary.

As Archbishop Wilton Gregory walks through the halls of St. Pius X High School, Atlanta, he stops to speak with the sophomore Hebrew Scripture class. Standing in the background (l-r) are Celia Daly, Bobby Bray and Tony Stephens, director of operations and finance.

Archbishop Gregory was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 9, 1973. Three years after his ordination he began graduate studies at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute (Sant’ Anselmo) in Rome. It was there that he earned his doctorate in sacred liturgy in 1980.

After having served as an associate pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Glenview, Ill., as a member of the faculty of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein and as a master of ceremonies to Cardinals John Cody and Joseph Bernardin, Archbishop Gregory was ordained an auxiliary bishop of Chicago on Dec. 13, 1983. On Feb. 10, 1994, he was installed as the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, Ill.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory interrupts Dr. Wright Vermilya’s AP (advanced placement) calculus class long enough to introduce himself and encourage them as they review for their final exam.

Archbishop Gregory was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops following three years as vice president under Bishop Joseph Fiorenza of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. He served on the NCCB Executive and Administrative Committees, the Administrative Board, the Committee on Doctrine and the U.S. Catholic Conference Committee on International Policy. He previously served as the chairman of the Bishops’ Committees on Personnel and the Third Millennium/Jubilee Year 2000 from 1998-2001, and Liturgy from 1991-93.

Archbishop Gregory has written extensively on church issues, including pastoral statements on the death penalty and euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide, and has published numerous articles on the subject of liturgy, particularly in the African-American community.