Just hours after Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks received the pallium from Pope Leo XIV, he was still in awe of the “beautiful symbol.”

The Archbishop of New York spoke about his experience on the July 7 episode of All Good Things with Archbishop Hicks , with co-hosts Father Dave Dwyer and The Catholic Guy Show host Lino Rulli.

“It kind of felt like if you ever have the opportunity to go to a concert and score front-row seats… to be that close to the Holy Father and to witness it, I’ll tell you, I’m still bubbling over,” he said. “There’s something that just filled me with great joy and connection. As I prayed with him today, I was very grateful for his homily, for his direction, for the way that he was showing us that we need to be united to each other and then put our shepherding into real action and to make sure that we’re doing something.”

Although Archbishop Hicks has followed Pope Leo XIV closely since he became the pontiff in 2025, he said that it was a different and surreal experience to be so close to him in person.

“When you’re that close and you get to see him, you could kind of feel his heart. I have watched him preach now for over a year as our Holy Father on television screens, on my phone, on a computer screen, it’s a little different…” Archbishop Hicks added. “He has a way of communicating strength and humility [and], at the same time, a real sense of pastoral care. What I picked up today is he’s a real believer.”

Elsewhere in the episode, Archbishop Hicks discussed the symbolism behind the pallium, and the fraternity that all of the metropolitan archbishops shared in Rome and Vatican City.

This conversation is part of this week’s episode of All Good Things with Archbishop Hicks on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel (129) and Catholic Faith Network.

If you have a question for the archbishop, you can send it by email to catholicchannel@siriusxm.com for a chance to be answered on “All Good Things.”