Vatican City, Dec 17, 2025 / 09:58 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV has chosen Bishop Ronald Hicks of the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, to be the next archbishop of New York — the most consequential U.S. episcopal appointment of Leo’s pontificate thus far.
The appointment was confirmed by EWTN News with two independent sources with direct knowledge of the appointment.
Hicks, 58, will succeed Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who has led New York, the second-largest U.S. archdiocese by population — with 2.5 million Catholics — since 2009.
The choice of Hicks for one of the most important U.S. archdioceses is likely to be heavily scrutinized for the insight it may give into the direction Pope Leo wishes to take the Church in the U.S.
A native of Illinois, Hicks has led the Joliet Diocese since September 2020. He was an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Chicago from 2018 to 2020, following three years as the archdiocese’s vicar general from 2015 to 2018.
Hicks was born on Aug. 4, 1967, in the town of Harvey, Illinois, south of Chicago, and grew up in South Holland, one suburb over from Dolton, where Pope Leo XIV grew up.
“I recognize a lot of similarities between [Pope Leo] and me,” Hicks told WGN in an interview in May. “So we grew up literally in the same radius, in the same neighborhood together. We played in the same parks, went swimming in the same pools, liked the same pizza places to go to.”
Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1994, Hicks’ priestly ministry included time as an associate pastor and pastor, and dean of formation as St. Joseph College Seminary.
In 2005, he began a five-year term as regional director of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) in Central America. Based in El Salvador, he oversaw the care of more than 3,400 orphaned and abandoned children in nine Latin American and Caribbean countries.
He returned to Chicago in 2010 to serve as dean of formation at Mundelein Seminary before Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago appointed him vicar general of the archdiocese on Jan. 1, 2015.
As bishop, Hicks serves on the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations for the U.S. bishops’ conference, and as the conference liaison to the Association of Ongoing Formation of Priests and the National Association of Diaconate Directors.
The Archdiocese of New York serves Catholics in the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island, and in seven counties to the north.
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This appears good. I presume Leo knows Hicks and has a good sense of his character and abilities.
This appears disappointing. Another capitulation to the sexual depravity agenda given his support for special gay Masses. Yes, Leo probably does know his soft on doctrine character.
He is solidly pro-life, is friendly to the Vetus Ordo, and has regularly offered communion on the tongue. I respect Leo and will trust his judgment until there’s good reason to think otherwise.
He held a Mass that was supposed to be welcoming to the gay and lesbian community. Are they not welcome in the Church?
We are all welcome, but with that welcome comes the expectation that we follow Church teaching & obey the rules.
Everyone is welcome, but any implicit endorsement of a committed, often defiant sinful way of life without repentance is not.
Another Chicago boy? Is he Cubs or White Sox?
Cubs.
“He returned to Chicago in 2010 to serve as dean of formation at Mundelein Seminary before Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago appointed him vicar general of the archdiocese on Jan. 1, 2015.”
Uh huh.
Bishop Barron, the evangelist/communicator extraordinaire, lodged in the middle of nowhere, 1100 miles from the communication capital of the world.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. They did the same thing to no less than Venerable Fulton Sheen by shipping him off to Rochester, NY. It starts to look more like a badge of honor than anything else. But at least I read some good things about Bishop Hicks and the TLM, which is encouraging.
The similarity did not escape me either. And we need pray that the injustice of depriving us of Archbishop Sheen’s beatification be very soon rectified.
As a resident of “nowhere” I am happy to have him here.
I went to college in the middle of nowhere about 200 miles north of you. It is, albeit frigid this time of year, is very beautiful.
And you are blessed as well to have Bishop Barron for your temporal shepherd.
Bishop Barron and Father Schmitz have robust ministries reaching the world from Minnesota. Bishop Hicks in Mamdani’s New York: If Hicks is a true shepherd in persona Christi, he will find numerous lost sheep and hell fire. I hope he has the spiritual strength to carry the crosses ahead of him.
It is good to see name of Bishop Barron! Outstanding intellect and servant of Christ.
Perhaps the Pope feels Bp Barron can effectively reach more people for Christ through his ministry, no matter where it’s based, (as you indicated by your description of his ministsry despite it’s physical base) than he would by being Archbishop of one of the largest dioeceses in the US, which also would limit his time and availability to continue his most powerful ministry…
I pray for his ministry as shepherd for the good Catholics of the NY Archdiocese.
Bishop Barron could’ve gone to NY, it is true, but perhaps a return to Chicago will be better, for he has styled himself as straight down the middle, neither a liberal nor a conservative, though I’ve always leaned on Chesterton’s reminder that the Catholic doesn’t follow the Via Media. Midwest HQ, Chicago needs episcopal leadership and Cupich will turn 77 March 19th. Dolan hits 76 February 6th. Let’s be fair, meet and just.
Hmmmm…Leo and Cupich are quite speedily showing Cardinal Dolan the door even though he only turned 75 earlier this year. It’s called getting “Chaputed”! They’re not on the ” team” (and I’m not referring to a baseball team), so they’re quickly out. “Team” members are left in place till they’re 80.
Cardinal Dolan, whatever his shortcomings, didn’t support the takeover of the USCCB a few years ago by Cupuch, McElroy, and Newark Tobin. He didn’t bravely speak up at the time like Chaput did, but still yet he didn’t support the “team”.
So the “team” shifted their focus from being the day to day team manager to being the General Manager – selecting the players who get to be on the team as opposed to picking daily lineups and choosing what reliever to bring in in the 8th.
So General Manager Cupich had himself installed by his like-minded souls in the Vatican as the gatekeeper of who exactly will be in the seats in the future at those Baltimore USCCB meetings.
So now we have McElroy taking over DC and another Cupich acolyte taking over NYC, Cupich in Chicago, Tobin in Newark, etc, etc.
Everything appears to be rolling along smoothly for the “team” to take the Pennant!
“Everything appears to be rolling along smoothly for the “team” to take the Pennant!”
Except that (1) they’re running out of managers and coaches who’ll go by the general manager’s playbook and (2) the players (priests) are hardly on board with the playbook either. We’re setting up for the possibility of major conflict between the old guard and the new guard. Apart from that, I too note with concern the relatively rapid acceptance of Cardinal Dolan’s resignation while Cupich’s sits on the Pope’s desk.
May God bless him, and may he keep humble, holy, and be a good shepherd.
Amen.
Sounds like another minion of Cardinal Cupich. Probably not a good sign of things to come.
Could be, but over at The Pillar we also read that Bishop Hicks is a good administrator, was close to Cardinal Francis George, and that the Archdiocese of New York needs a kick-start since it boasts only 18 seminarians out of a Catholic population of 2.5 million.
My hope is that Bishop Hicks remembers those “seven counties to the north” (as you described us but we do have names) and not only attends to NYC area. Under Cardinal Dolan, the ONLY Catholic school in Sullivan County was closed. This school was significant in the community as it provided not only a good education to the children but also a safe, affordable preschool for families. Sullivan is a poor county. Parishes in the outer areas of the county are being closed even though they were financially okay and the distance to a church is now too far for many Catholics. In my home county of Orange, parishes are being closed while we are funding non Catholic children in NYC Catholic schools. My husband and I stopped contributing (and we were generous in the thousands of dollars) to the NY Cardinal’s Appeal because the money has been NYC area centered.
From what I can tell, it seems like he won’t differ from Cardinal Dolan in any substantive way. He seems to be in the “conservative” two-thirds of American episcopate, while clearly adhering to the dreary USCCB/Vatican agenda on the politcal issues like immigration and climate change. He doesn’t have an aversion to The Latin Mass, but probably won’t do much to promote it. He’ll say the right things on abortion and perverted sex, but probably won’t discipline lay or clerical dissenters, like the notorious Jesuit who operates in the Archdiocese of New York.
He’ll also start out $300M poorer as a result of the sex abuse settlement just announced. Who knows where all that money will be going and how much of it is justified. Plenty of scammers and their lawyers likely will get a juicy windfall while a smaller number of genuine victims will get nothing, if everything holds true to form.
I am not only Disappointed but also deeply saddened by the Negative Energy disposed by many commentators political views towards Your new Archbishop. Not being disparaging, but I truly Believe in the Power of Prayer and for me I offer uplifting Blessings from God to Help each of you to discern your discontent . All Praise, Glory and Honor to the Lord our God. May His Peace be always upon us . Amen Sweet Jesus !!!