In celebrating a Liturgy of the Hours Evening Prayer at St. Teresa of the Infant Jesus Church, Staten Island, Archbishop Ronald Hicks told the faithful how he feels after serving as Archbishop of New York for nine and a half months. 

“If I had to reduce it down to three words, and three words only, my answer would be this: I feel happy, grateful, and blessed – and that is true,” the archbishop said Wednesday night, to a round of applause from the estimated 450 people in attendance.  

This was the archbishop’s second visit to St. Teresa’s, having celebrated the Castleton Corners church’s 100th anniversary Mass in March.     

“The welcome that you have given me from the very beginning has been gracious,” the archbishop said during Wednesday’s Staten Island Deanery prayer service. “My friends, it’s been great and wonderful, in the good times and in the bad, in the sickness, in the health, in the ups and downs.”     

Sheen relic venerated  

He expressed his gratitude for the warmth of the archdiocesan faithful during the difficult weeks recuperating from eye surgery, and later after the death of his father. “Your prayers were with me, and I felt them.” Among the many ups, he said, were receiving his pallium in Rome, his joyous visits to Staten Island and other parts of the archdiocese, and receiving, on behalf of the archdiocese, a first-class relic of Blessed Fulton Sheen. The archbishop brought the relic with him from St. Patrick’s Cathedral; it was later placed in the sanctuary for the faithful to venerate after the service. “It’s part of his (right) hand,” the archbishop said, “his hand that he used to write his homilies with, and his teachings with.”  

The archbishop returned to one of his regular themes, that of evangelization. “I want us to be a Church on mission – a Church on mission. Jesus Christ has given us a mission,” he said. “And the ultimate mission that Jesus has given us is the salvation of souls. That everything that we do is about the salvation of souls – that we are saved through our relationship with Jesus.” He added that the Church exists “to serve others and help others know, love, and serve Jesus – and to see God, His face, in our brothers and sisters…Fulton Sheen helped show us the way of what it means to be a Church on mission.” 

At the start of his reflection, the archbishop noted, in Spanish, that he’s aware that most Hispanics in the pews understand English, but that he often includes Spanish in his reflections and homilies “because I want to communicate to the world that the Hispanic community, the Latino people are very important to me…You are in my heart; we are together – brothers and sisters walking together on this path of life and faith.” 

The parish pastor, Msgr. William Belford, gave the welcoming remarks and closing words of gratitude. He was among many priests who attended from the Staten Island Deanery, including the dean, retired Auxiliary Bishop Peter Byrne.

Words from the faithful  

After the service, while many of the faithful lined up nearby for veneration of the relic, Steve Ingenita, 54, a parishioner at Holy Child Church in Annadale, told The Good Newsroom, “It was important for us to come and hear our new archbishop of New York, Hicks, spread the faith and preach the Gospel, and teach us how important it is to help others, to do good and be good in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior…He was so gentle-speaking and so welcoming to everyone, the Spanish-speaking members of our churches as well as the English-speaking members.”   

Maria Balderas, 38, mother of three, also attended the service. She was with family members and fellow parishioners from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Port Richmond, including her husband, Jose. “This was an evening for prayer, a time for sharing with the community. The archbishop’s words were very inspiring…It was a beautiful experience; we are very grateful that he also spoke in Spanish,” Maria Balderas told The Good Newsroom in Spanish during the reception. Her daughter, Joanna, a 7th grader at the parish school, was among the altar servers.  

The Liturgy of the Hours, filled with sacred songs from the choir, included the Our Father and a prayer that reads in part, “Lord, watch over us by day and by night. In the midst of life’s countless changes, strengthen us with your never-changing love…Amen.”