San Diego Bishop Robert was admitted to an undisclosed hospital and underwent a coronary bypass operation last Nov. 22. Days after the procedure, the diocese reported that the surgery went well.

Bishop’s Health Condition

According to the National Catholic Reporter news, Bishop McElroy was admitted to the hospital. He was scheduled to undergo a coronary bypass operation on Nov. 22. 

The report also cited a report from diocesan news that he was expected to make a full recovery. Moreover, the diocese stated that the operation was a planned procedure. Bishop McElroy was not an emergency patient. 

The National Catholic Reporter also shared Bishop McElroy’s letter to the priests in the diocese. The bishop explained that his doctors began discussing possible surgery. This one followed the test results he received over the summer.

Furthermore, he expected to go back to work after the Christmas holidays. His letter also expressed his great confidence in the medical staff carrying out the operation. According to the bishop, generally, patients can return to their job in about four weeks. 

Bishop McElroy, in his letter, also stated that God would be in charge.

Before his surgery, the bishop attended the USB general assembly last Nov. 15 – 18 in Baltimore. Due to the pandemic, it was the first in-person fall assembly the USB had had since 2019.

Meanwhile, a report from San Diego Times shared that the operation went well, and the bishop is recovering. Kevin C. Eckery, a San Diego Roman Catholic Diocese spokesperson, gave the good news. 

Two days after his operation, Bishop McElroy remains in an undisclosed hospital after recovering from the procedure. According to the report, he spent a couple of days in ICU after the surgery last Nov. 22. 

Then, head to a regular room, and he was expected to stay in the hospital for seven days, as stated by Eckery. He told the Times of San Diego that the bishop wanted privacy and has asked for no visitors. 

That is why the diocese did not release the location of his recovery.

About Bishop Robert McElroy

As shared on the San Diego Diocese webpage, Bishop Robert W. McElroy hails from San Francisco. The bishop was born on Feb. 5, 1954.

He, his sisters, and his brother studied in Catholic schools. Bishop McElroy attended Our Lady of Mercy Elementary School in Daly City. When his family moved to Burlingame, he, his sisters, and brother attended and graduated from Our Lady of Angels School.

After eighth grade, he entered Saint Joseph High School in Mountain View, the high school seminary of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

In 1972, he entered Harvard College. Three years later, he graduated with a degree in American history.

The bishop pursued a master’s degree in American history at Stanford and graduated in 1976. Bishop McElroy re-entered the seminary in the Fall of 1976 in Saint Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California. 

He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese on Apr. 12, 1980. To learn more about his life until he becomes the bishop of San Diego, one may visit the diocese’s website.

 

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