Only 2 1/2 years after being named a cardinal, a top San Diego spiritual leader is headed to Washington, D.C., as archbishop, the Vatican announced early Monday.

Pope Francis is moving the head of San Diego’s Roman Catholic Diocese to Washington, D.C., placing a prominent ally, as well as a supporter of migrant and LGBTQ communities, in the nation’s capital as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to launch mass deportations and a rollback of transgender rights.

Cardinal Walter McElroy of San Diego is named by Pope Francis to replace the retiring Cardinal Wilton Gregory leading the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

McElroy, known for a pastoral approach to migrants and the LGBTQ+ community, will lead an archdiocese still bruised by a sexual abuse and mismanagement scandal.

Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, bishop of San Diego, has been appointed by Pope Francis to become the new Archbishop of Washington, D.C., it was announced Monday.

Pope Francis appoints Cardinal McElroy as Archbishop of Washington, signifying ideological progression in the Church.

Having led the San Diego diocese since 2015, McElroy, 70, has experience with immigration, both as a political issue and a reality in his diocesan churches.

Observers say progressive new archbishop of Washington is expected to speak out for immigrants, LGBTQ persons and the marginalized. "A very strong voice to counter the horrors," a college president predicts.

Pope Francis has named Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego as the archbishop of Washington, D.C. He is tapping one of his most progressively like-minded allies to head the Catholic Church in the U.S.

Pope Francis taps one of most outspoken and progressive-leaning U.S. Catholic leaders to Washington, D.C. ahead of Trump term, immigration battle.