The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington issued the following statement on Nov. 5, 2025:
The Archdiocese of Washington announced today that Cardinal Robert McElroy has been diagnosed with cancer, which will be surgically removed on Nov. 13, 2025. The precise diagnosis is that Cardinal McElroy has well-differentiated liposarcoma, which is a non-aggressive cancer that tends not to metastasize. For these reasons, the Cardinal’s doctors are in consensus that his prognosis is very good.
Last night (Nov. 4) Cardinal McElroy spoke with the priests of the Archdiocese about this diagnosis during their annual convocation and said to them that “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. I ask your prayers and support in these days and plan to resume full duties two weeks after the surgery.”
