BREAKING 1st Press Conference with New Archbishop of New York Ronald Hicks and Cardinal Dolan - FULL TEXT

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, joined his successor, Archbishop-designate, the Most Reverend Ronald A. Hicks, at a press conference at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, on Thursday, Dec. 18, in the morning, saying, “I already love him, and appreciate him, and trust him.”
Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, appointing Archbishop-designate Hicks, currently the Bishop of Joliet, Illinois, as the 11th Archbishop of New York.
Cardinal Dolan reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 earlier this year. His Eminence reflected on his nearly 17 years leading the archdiocese in a letter sent to its more than 1.5 million Catholics. Archbishop-designate Hicks, age 58, was born in Harvey, Illinois, and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1994. He served as auxiliary bishop of Chicago before being appointed Bishop of Joliet in 2020. He chairs the USCCB Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.

FULL TEXT Speech of Archbishop-elect Hicks: Good morning, everyone, and peace be with all of you. I just wanted to begin by saying thank you for being here. My name is Ron Hicks and I have visited New York about 10 times in my life and every time I have visited I have said to myself, I love it.

I love the culture, the food, the energy, the plays, the neighborhoods, but especially I love the people. I love the people from all over the world who call this place home. And every time that I've visited, I've always said I look forward to returning. And this time, I'm returning not only as a visitor, but I'm going to be returning to stay. 

So, I would just like to share a couple more things about myself. My parents, Ron and Rosley Hicks, are retired high school teachers, and they raised my brother and I in the south suburbs of Chicago and South Holland, Illinois, which is right next door to Dolton, Illinois. Now, South Holland and Dolton might not mean anything to you, but Dolton is where our holy father, Pope Leo XIV, grew up and is from. And our houses are are literally 14 blocks away from each other. So, I would like to simply begin by expressing my heartfelt gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for this appointment. And I'm getting used to the microphone system here also. But I want to thank him for my for my appointment here.

 As someone who has dedicated a portion of my priesthood to serving in Latin America, I have a deep affinity with the Holy Father and a tremendous respect and confidence in his leadership. I'm also grateful to Cardinal Cristoffe Pierre, our apostolic Nuncio, for his trust that he's placed in me. When he 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.

 In my 31 years of priesthood, I was formed in Chicago in the Archdiocese of Chicago under the care of Cardinal Bernardine through the witness of Cardinal George and by the mentorship of Cardinal Cupich. For all of them, I'm deeply grateful. 

Now, let me begin with potentially my first controversial statement. I'm a Cubs fan and I love deep dish pizza. That said, I want you to know that I am going to remain a loyal Cubs fan. No problem. However, I am going to start rooting for the New York sports teams and uh I already love your pizza. I love it a lot. I've spent the last five years of my priesthood serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois. It's a wonderful Diocese and I'm going to miss the clergy, the religious and the laity there. I've oftentimes told them because of them during my five years I have felt happy, grateful and blessed to be their bishop. Together we have worked with some missionary zeal to catechize, to evangelize, and to put our faith into action as disciples who make disciples.

 I also want to take this moment right now to express my deep gratitude to Cardinal Timothy Dolan. For his extraordinary dedication and leadership in the Archdiocese of New York. I'm profoundly grateful for the many ways that he has shepherded the arch Archdiocese of New York and for the kindness that he's already shown me. I've been deeply touched by his graciousness and his generous expression of support of me. In a truly magnanimous spirit, he said to me, "Ron, I want you to do well here, and you have all my support.

 New York is a rich is rich in energy, languages, cultures, and people. As excited I am as I am to get to know the city of and the Archdiocese  and all who call this home, I'm also very aware that these are complex and challenging days especially as we face issues of life, faith, justice, peace and healing. Still, I feel the hope that so many to our shores had that came through through this very harbor here in New York, including my own family. I am committed to working with the great variety and diversity of faith leaders and civic leaders to keep that hope alive and to make real the promise of the golden door by acting in mutual respect and working to uphold human dignity. I'm committed to learning about the issues before our church, including the funds the arch dascese has set aside to help resolve sexual abuse claims. As a church, we can never rest in our efforts to prevent abuse, to protect children, and to care for survivors. While this work is challenging, it's difficult. It's painful. I hope it will continue to help in the areas of accountability, transparency, and healing.

 I very much look forward to working closely and collaboratively with the priests, the deacons, the religious, the lay leaders of this Archdiocese. And I look forward to you to getting to know you and them and you and them getting to know me together. I hope that we can listen, discern, pray, and serve faithfully as we move forward in hope. 

Message in Spanish:

And I realize I've been watching the news feeds and the social media a little bit. I haven't dove a lot into everything that's being said, but I realize there's a lot of people out there who right now are trying to figure out who is he, what does he stand for? And if you want to know the core of who I am and what I stand for, you should know this. I love Jesus with my mind, heart, and soul, and I strive to love my neighbor as myself. My desire is to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and to do the will of God, serving with a shepherd's heart. I trust and I surrender my life and my will to God. And with great humility, I accept this appointment. I ask for your prayers. I ask for your support as we take these next steps together. And with great gratitude, I ask God to bless us today and always.