Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Ronald A. Hicks of Joliet as the next archbishop of New York, marking a decisive shift in leadership style for one of the most visible dioceses in the United States.
Hicks, 58, succeeds Cardinal Timothy Dolan, whose resignation was accepted after he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in February. The appointment, announced today (Dec. 18) by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, ends months of speculation and places a bishop with a markedly pastoral and missionary profile at the helm of an archdiocese facing institutional and financial restructuring and deep cultural change.
The appointment is widely seen as a signal from Rome that the center of gravity in U.S. Catholic leadership is continuing to move away from media-driven cultural confrontation and toward a model rooted in listening, social engagement and pastoral proximity — a model closely associated with both Pope Francis and his successor.
Hicks and Dolan appeared together at a press conference Dec. 18 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan Dec. 18. In his first public remarks as the new archbishop of New York, Hicks recalled the moment he learned of his appointment. “When [the nuncio] called me to share the appointment, I told him that simply, I want to do the will of God. I asked him to tell the Holy Father that I say yes with great humility and that I accept this appointment with an open heart.”
Hicks will be installed as archbishop Feb. 6.
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With thanks to the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) and Camillo Barone, where this article originally appeared.
