![\"First](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-126062761,imgsize-117528,width-400,resizemode-4\/pope-names-fellow-chicagoan-bishop-ronald-hicks-as-new-archbishop-of-new-york.jpg\" "\\"Bishop")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nPope Leo XIV has named Bishop Ronald A. Hicks as the next Archbishop of New York, placing one of the United States\u2019 most influential Catholic archdioceses under new leadership at a moment of institutional transition and political strain. Hicks, 58, currently serves as bishop of Joliet, Illinois. He replaces Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who submitted his resignation earlier this year after turning 75, as required under Vatican rules. The appointment, announced in Vatican City on Thursday, is the most significant US posting made so far by Leo, the first American pope. The New York archdiocese serves roughly 2.5 million Catholics across Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island and seven surrounding counties. Hicks inherits leadership as the archdiocese begins implementing a $300 million settlement fund for survivors of clerical sexual abuse, finalised by Dolan shortly before his retirement. Speaking at a news conference following the announcement, Hicks addressed the settlement directly. \u201cAs a church, we can never rest in our efforts to prevent abuse, to protect children and to care for survivors,\u201d he said. \u201cWhile this work is challenging, it\u2019s difficult, it\u2019s painful, I hope it will continue to help in the areas of accountability, transparency and healing.\u201d The fund is intended to cover settlements for most, if not all, of the approximately 1,300 outstanding abuse claims against the archdiocese. It will be financed through budget reductions and the sale of church assets. Dolan had delayed stepping aside while the settlement framework was completed. Vatican practice often allows outgoing bishops to remain in place when abuse litigation or governance issues are unresolved. The leadership change also marks a generational shift. Dolan, a high-profile conservative figure, was a dominant public presence in New York and a prominent voice in national Catholic debates. His tenure included close ties to Republican political figures, including Donald Trump, who appointed him to a Religious Liberty Commission and invited him to pray at his inauguration. Hicks arrives with a different profile. Like Leo, he is Chicago-born and has spent significant time working in Latin America. From 2005 to 2010, he served in El Salvador as regional director of Nuestros Peque\u00f1os Hermanos<\/span>, a church-run programme supporting orphaned and abandoned children across Latin America and the Caribbean. He has also publicly aligned with US bishops critical of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration policies. In November, Hicks endorsed a statement from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops condemning immigration raids, particularly those affecting Chicago. The message, he said at the time, \u201caffirms our solidarity with all our brothers and sisters as it expresses our concerns, opposition, and hopes with clarity and conviction. It is grounded in the church\u2019s enduring commitment to the Catholic social teaching of human dignity and a call for meaningful immigration reform.\u201d Hicks acknowledged his shared background with the pope during interviews following Leo\u2019s election. He said the two men met in person only in 2024, when then-Cardinal Robert Prevost visited one of his parishes in Illinois. \u201cWe grew up literally in the same radius, in the same neighbourhood together,\u201d Hicks told Chicago\u2019s WGN-TV. \u201cWe played in the same parks, went swimming in the same pools, like the same pizza places.\u201d Christopher White, author of Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy<\/span>, said the similarities matter. \u201cHe won\u2019t be shy, and at the same time he will also bring a seriousness and willingness to learn that\u2019s likely to help him on a local level,\u201d White said. \u201cIt will be different from Dolan\u2019s larger-than-life persona.\u201d Hicks was ordained a priest in Chicago, later serving as dean of formation at Mundelein Seminary before being appointed vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2015 by Cardinal Blase Cupich. He became an auxiliary bishop in 2018 and was named bishop of Joliet by Pope Francis in 2020. His experience includes navigating the fallout from a 2023 Illinois attorney general\u2019s report documenting decades of clerical abuse across the state. While the report criticised past diocesan leadership, it noted improvements in safeguarding practices during Hicks\u2019s tenure. Dolan, for his part, welcomed the appointment publicly. \u201cI already love him and appreciate him and trust him,\u201d Dolan said, adding that Hicks was \u201can early Christmas gift\u201d for the archdiocese. Hicks, standing in St Patrick\u2019s Cathedral as archbishop-designate, struck a measured note. \u201cI accept this appointment with humility and an open heart,\u201d he said. \u201cI ask for your support and your prayers.\u201d He now assumes leadership of a church confronting its past, managing financial redress, and redefining its public voice under the first American pope.<\/div>\n