OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
10:50 AM – Friday, February 6, 2026
St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan is set to host a historic transition today as Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks is installed as the 11th Archbishop of New York.
Appointed by Pope Leo XIV, 58-year-old Hicks succeeds Cardinal Timothy Dolan, 76, who has led the archdiocese for the past 17 years.
The formal Installation Mass is scheduled to begin on Friday at 2:00 p.m. ET. (11:00 a.m. PT).
The initial transition began Thursday night with a bilingual Vespers service held in both English and Spanish. During his remarks, Hicks gestured toward the famous Atlas statue across the street at Rockefeller Center.
In a moment of reflection, he compared the mythological Titan’s eternal struggle of holding up the heavens to the weight of leadership, emphasizing that he intends to rely on faith rather than carrying the burden of the archdiocese alone. Hicks used the Atlas metaphor to signal a shift in leadership style — moving away from the image of a “CEO” or a “lone hero” and toward a model of spiritual surrender and collaboration.
“As I begin this ministry tomorrow … I do not want to be Atlas,” Hicks stated, emphasizing that he does not intend to “carry the weight of the world” alone as he enters this new role.
“On one side of the street, Atlas shows us when we try to carry everything on our own. On this side, in the church, Christ invites us to place our trust in Him… with all of our hopes, all of our wounds, all of our future into the hands of Jesus,” he added.
The Archbishop of New York serves as both a spiritual shepherd and a prominent cultural figure, wielding immense influence over a congregation currently navigating deep-seated “anxieties.” This transition comes at a pivotal moment for the city, as New Yorkers grapple with internal divisions over public safety, illegal immigration, and economic instability — all while adjusting to a shifting political landscape under the city’s newly elected Democratic-socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
“The Church … gives us an evening like this not to solve all the issues and challenges of our world,” Hicks said during the Vespers service, according to the New York Times, highlighting the challenges of the social and political climate in which he enters into the role. He has avoided making any political statements, so far, however.
Archbishop Hicks assumes leadership of a vast and vibrant archdiocese, serving over 2 million Catholics across approximately 300 parishes. In relation to the congregation’s “diversity,” more than one million members are Latinos with roots in Central and South America — a demographic the Spanish-speaking Hicks is prepared to engage.
The Installation Mass is expected to draw a capacity crowd of over 2,000 guests to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. According to the National Catholic Reporter, the high-profile assembly will include seven cardinals and a massive delegation of roughly 180 bishops from across the country.
Hicks succeeds Cardinal Dolan, who has steered the archdiocese since 2009. Dolan became a national figure for his staunch defense of traditional Catholic doctrines on abortion and marriage, as well as his prominent role in civic life — notably delivering prayers at both of President Donald Trump’s inaugurations.
Hicks brings a deep pastoral resume from the Midwest, having served as an auxiliary bishop in Chicago from 2018 to 2020, before leading the Diocese of Joliet as its bishop from 2020 until his current appointment to New York.
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