McElroy, known for a pastoral approach to migrants and the LGBTQ+ community, will lead an archdiocese still bruised by a sexual abuse and mismanagement scandal.

Having led the San Diego diocese since 2015, McElroy, 70, has experience with immigration, both as a political issue and a reality in his diocesan churches.

Pope Francis has named Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego as the archbishop of Washington, D.C. He is tapping one of his most progressively like-minded allies to head the Catholic Church in the U.S.