WASHINGTON (November 13, 2001) -- The nation's Catholic bishops today elected Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville to a three-year term as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The USCCB is the national organization through which the country's Catholic bishops jointly exercise their leadership within the Church and in the larger society. The USCCB, which formally came into existence on July 1, succeeds the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/U.S. Catholic Conference, which had served the bishops since 1966.

Bishop Gregory's predecessors as president of the NCCB/USCC, and now the USCCB, were:

NCCB/USCC

Cardinal John Dearden, Detroit, 1966-1971
Cardinal John Krol, Philadelphia, 1971-74
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, then Archbishop of Cincinnati, 1974-1977
Archbishop John Quinn, San Francisco, 1977-1980
Archbishop John Roach, St. Paul and Minneapolis, 1980-1983
Bishop James Malone, Youngstown, 1983-1986
Archbishop John May, St. Louis, 1986-1989
Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, Cincinnati, 1989-1992
Cardinal William Keeler, Baltimore, 1992-1995
Bishop Anthony Pilla, Cleveland, 1995-1998

NCCB/USCC and USCCB

Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, Galveston-Houston, 1998-2001

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