Cardinal Timothy Dolan (R) and his successor Ronald Hicks arrive to lead a mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on December 18, 2025. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
The newly named pro-migrant archbishop of New York called himself an "unworthy servant" during his first Mass in the city after Pope Leo XIV named his fellow Chicago native to replace a conservative cardinal on Thursday, December 18.
In a significant shift for the US Catholic Church, Leo replaced Timothy Dolan, who stepped down after reaching the church's retirement age of 75, with Ronald Hicks, a 58-year-old bishop from Illinois.
"I've always loved the energy of New York," Hicks said at a Mass for the staff of the New York archdiocese in Manhattan's St. Patrick's Cathedral, which he also addressed in Spanish. He will be formally installed on February 6.
The New York archdiocese is among the largest in the United States and the pick ends months of speculation about who would follow Dolan, widely regarded as being close to President Donald Trump.
