Cardinal McElroy diagnosed with 'non-aggressive' cancer, scheduled for surgery

(OSV News) -- Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington has been diagnosed with cancer and will undergo surgery Nov. 13, the Archdiocese of Washington announced Nov. 5.

In a statement, the archdiocese said the 71-year-old cardinal has "well-differentiated liposarcoma, which is a non-aggressive cancer that tends not to metastasize."

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the term "liposarcoma" covers a group "very rare cancers that begin in your fat cells," typically originating in the arms, legs and midsection.

Some 1 in 100,000 in the U.S. are affected each year by liposarcoma, which is usually found in men more than women, particularly men between the ages of 50 and 65.

The Cleveland Clinic notes on its website that "well-differentiated liposarcoma" -- the cells of which appear more like normal cells when examined under a microscope -- along with "atypical lipoma of the extremities (arms and legs), grow slowly and aren't life-threatening."

Because well-differentiated liposarcoma is non-aggressive, "the Cardinal's doctors are in consensus that his prognosis is very good," said the archdiocese.

The statement noted that on the evening of Nov. 4, the cardinal "spoke with the priests of the Archdiocese about this diagnosis during their annual convocation."

According to the archdiocese, Cardinal McElroy told them, "I am at peace with this challenge and hope and believe that in God's grace I will be Archbishop of Washington for many years to come."

He asked for the priests' "prayers and support in these days," adding that he planned "to resume full duties two weeks after the surgery."

Cardinal McElroy was installed March 11 as the eighth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington. He had headed the Diocese of San Diego from 2015 until Pope Francis on Jan. 6 named him to replace the retiring Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, who had been the archbishop of Washington since 2019.

During his installation Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Cardinal McElroy encouraged the faithful of his new archdiocese to be "pilgrims of hope in a wounded world."

"What hope we could bring to our world as the Church of Washington if we could truly help our society to see others more as God sees them -- beloved children, sisters and brothers," Cardinal McElroy said during the Mass of installation. Referencing the Jubilee Year and its theme "Pilgrims of Hope," Cardinal McElroy called on his new flock to "unswervingly understand our vocation as disciples of hope."