San Diego bishop says he was ‘stunned,’ ‘humbled’ by being named a cardinal. The Cardinal-designate Robert W. McElroy told that when he learned he has chosen by the Pope among the 21 new cardinals, “I said a big prayer.”
“I said several prayers because I was stunned and so shocked by this,” said the 68-year-old prelate who heads the San Diego Diocese. He is the only American in the group the Pope announced on 29 May.
“It was prayer in gratitude for my family and the many people who have helped form me over the years and thanksgiving to God for all their roles in my life,” he said during a 25-minute news conference held outside the diocesan pastoral center.
A native of San Francisco, McElroy is the sixth bishop of San Diego.
“By naming Bishop Robert McElroy as a cardinal, Pope Francis has shown his pastoral care for the church in the United States,” said Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “I have known and have had the privilege of working with Cardinal-designate McElroy for many years.”
As brother bishops, he said, they have worked together “on many issues and initiatives in service” to the USCCB and the California Catholic Conference, which is the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops.
“His strong faith and the pastoral concern for the faithful he has shown in his diocese will serve the global church well,” Gomez said in a May 29 statement. “Please join me in praying for the continued ministry of Bishop McElroy.”
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco also sent his congratulations to McElroy.
The San Diego bishop told reporters he did not know ahead of the pope’s announcement he would be made a cardinal. He awoke that morning to a flood of calls, texts and emails congratulating him.
“I thought to myself, ‘Congratulations on what?’” he said.
McElroy said he is deeply honored to be named to the College of Cardinals and also is happy to know he will be staying in San Diego. “That delights me,” he said.
In a statement he released on 29 May, he said he was “stunned and deeply surprised by the news” that the Pope had named him a cardinal.
“My prayer is that in this ministry I might be of additional service to the God who has graced me on so many levels in my life. And I pray also that I can assist the Holy Father in his pastoral renewal of the church,” he said.