For many young adults within the Archdiocese of Washington, the day Pope Francis announced that then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory would be made a cardinal at a Nov. 28 consistory was a day of great joy. As they look forward to Cardinal Gregory’s new role within the universal Church, many young adults expressed the hope that the local Church will continue to listen and minister to the younger generations in the months and years to come. 

The morning of Oct. 25, Stefanie Miles -- who works in youth and young adult ministry at the Church of the Incarnation in Washington -- saw Pope Francis’ announcement on Twitter, and she immediately started screaming and running around the house with joy, waking up her mother and calling her aunt and brother.

“I was overjoyed,” Miles said in an interview with the Catholic Standard. “There was pure joy, happiness and a sense of pride to see someone who looks like my dad or my brother hold such a prestigious position in one of the oldest organizations in the world. It was really special.

“We went to Mass that morning with an extra little bounce in our step,” she recalled. “It was a beautiful morning, it was a beautiful day.”

Miles said her prayer for Cardinal Gregory, the first African American cardinal, is “to have the strength to endure all that is expected of him,” adding that she often sees that being an African American in a position of leadership calls for being “expected to do a little bit more, be a little bit more.” 

“I hope it doesn’t wear him thin,” she said. “I hope that he has the endurance, the stamina to do whatever he wants, whatever God wants, what he can of what we are expecting… to ultimately bring people to Christ.”

Along with her friend, Ogechi Akalegbere, Miles leads a small fellowship group for Catholic women of color through the Office of Young Adult Ministry. 

“I was trying to figure out what I could do get back into interacting with people my age and doing things with likeminded people,” Miles said. “I wanted to be with women… to talk about my relationship with Jesus in a safe space and even if they’re giggling on the inside, they might be thinking, ‘I feel that way too.’” 

Miles said she appreciates how the Archdiocese has been reaching out to young people through the small group ministry, which began this fall with a variety of small groups for various communities throughout the local Church in Washington. 

Akalegbere, who is the Christian Service Coordinator at the Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac, Maryland, said that young people can serve their local communities by being “bold.”

“Be bold, rather than disheartened by the Church,” she said. “A lot of young lay people are the current of the Church, not the future of the Church.”

She went on to add that if the Church wants to continue to retain youth and young adults, the Church must be open to “working with the different generations and figuring out ways to make them feel heard and seen.” 

“Everyone is yearning and thirsting for spiritual growth, a spiritual home,” Akalegbere said. 

Her reaction to Cardinal Gregory’s elevation to the rank of cardinal, Akalegbere said, was one of great joy, followed with a little bit of worry. 

“It’s such a big position,” she said. “When people of color are put in such amazing roles, the scrutiny is a bit higher. My prayer is that people would treat him just and fair.”

Akalegbere said she saw the timing of Cardinal Gregory’s appointment a “full circle coincidental moment,” as he was created a cardinal during the month of November, Black Catholic History Month. 

“I don’t think the Lord makes any mistakes,” she said. “The Holy Spirit is moving and shaking in these moments. 

“(November’s) greater focus on the call to sainthood for African American holy men and women, hopefully that brings more of a diverse look at what it means to be Catholic and what it means to be a saint,” Akalegbere said. 

For many young people, Akalegbere said, “representation is essential.” As she serves as a catechist for seventh and eighth graders, Akalegbere said she is intentional about introducing holy men and women of all color, so that they “know that there are saints of all types that have lived different types of lives.”

While a student at the University of Maryland in College Park, Apongnwu Fopenawoh met Cardinal Gregory when he visited the campus’ Catholic Student Center and celebrated Mass with the students. 

 “He gave a great homily, we were all cracking up,” she remembers. “With that homily he gave, I saw his sense of freedom and being with the people… he is free and himself.” 

Fopenawoh, who graduated from the University of Maryland in the spring and now serves as the campus ministry assistant at Howard University, said she sees Cardinal Gregory as a father figure, valuing the soul of every human being. When she heard that then-Archbishop Gregory would be elevated to cardinal, she said because of the admiration she has for him as a father figure, she was excited and aware of the role he will play for the Church as a whole. 

“Especially with the things that are going on in the world and in our country, we need an image of unity and peace and reconciliation for the Church of this time,” she said. “God’s house has many colors, tongues and races.”