Local News
Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory: ‘I Begin … With Total Reliance On God’s Grace’
Published: December 16, 2004
Editor's note: The following is Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory's statement at the December 9, 2004 press conference.
Today I accept the appointment of Pope John Paul II to become the Sixth Archbishop of Atlanta with profound gratitude for the confidence he has placed in me. I consider it a particular grace to follow the careful and generous pastoral service of Archbishop John F. Donoghue and I look forward to working with him and to learning from him. I am also pleased to become a loyal citizen of Atlanta and a proud resident of the State of Georgia.
I leave the Diocese of Belleville in Illinois with deep gratitude for the support and the collaboration of the extraordinary people of that local Church during these past 11 years. I enter this new assignment eager to learn about the people of the Archdiocese, to listen to their dreams and aspirations, and above all to encourage all of us toward a deeper love for Jesus Christ. I promise to work collaboratively with all of the citizens of this great community and to learn to reverence the rich traditions and heritages of all its people. I willingly place all of my talents and energy at the disposal of the Catholic Church in Atlanta and I begin this new responsibility with humble and total reliance on God’s Grace and under the watchful patronage of Mary, according to two of her titles: her Immaculate Heart, Patroness of both the Diocese of Belleville and the Archdiocese of Atlanta and of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Empress of America.
