Featuring: Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, Archbishop of Washington
In Conversation With: Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., University President
In a political landscape where many Americans perceive political discourse has become unproductive, stressful, and disrespectful, where do we find reason for hope? Join us for a timely conversation that will explore the roots of our societal divides and offer strategies to move forward together toward a more unified future.
The livestream feed will be posted to this page prior to the event.
About Cardinal Robert W. McElroy
Robert Cardinal McElroy is the eighth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington.
Upon graduation from high school, Cardinal McElroy was committed to seeking a life in the priesthood but concluded that it would be best to pursue his vocation in a college outside the seminary system. He received a bachelor’s degree in American history from Harvard College and received a master’s degree in American history and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University. He also earned a master’s degree in divinity (M.Div.) at St. Patrick’s Seminary, a licentiate in sacred theology (STL) from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, and a doctorate in moral theology (STD) from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco on April 12, 1980. His first assignment was St. Cecilia Parish in San Francisco, which was the parish where both of his parents had grown up, attended grammar school, and were later married.
Parish work has always been his first love. In 1989, Cardinal McElroy served as parochial vicar at St. Pius Parish in Redwood City.
In 1995, Archbishop Quinn appointed then-Father McElroy vicar general of the Archdiocese, a post he continued to hold under Cardinal William Levada, who succeeded Archbishop Quinn.
The following year, then-Father McElroy was made a prelate of honor by St. John Paul II and appointed pastor of St. Gregory Parish in San Mateo by Cardinal Levada. He had the immense happiness of serving in this same parish for more than 15 years.
Then-Bishop McElroy was appointed auxiliary bishop of San Francisco by Pope Benedict XVI on July 6, 2010, and was ordained at St. Mary’s Cathedral on September 7, 2010. He became the Archdiocesan Vicar for Parish Life and Development and served in that role until his appointment to be the sixth bishop of San Diego in March 2015.
Pope Francis appointed then-Bishop McElroy to the College of Cardinals on May 29, 2022. He was installed in a consistory on August 27, 2022, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Pope Francis appointed Cardinal McElroy the eighth Archbishop of Washington on January 6, 2025. Cardinal McElroy is a member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.
Originally published at forum2025.nd.edu.