Seven weeks to the hour after he was first introduced as the next Archbishop of New York, Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks returned to a podium at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, focused on faith and service to Jesus as his priorities as the new leader of the Archdiocese of New York. 

“At the center of everything is faith. And so all the issues, so many of them, are important, but one of my focuses is going to be on evangelization. How do we actually be disciples who make disciples? People who have been a part of the Church, but maybe not so much, how do we re-engage? How do we pass our faith on to the next generation? How do we be a Church that is relevant, living, and beautiful, sharing our faith together? So it’s really living out that evangelizing mission of the Church,” he said in response to a question from The Good Newsroom. 

The outgoing Bishop of Joliet, Illinois, met with reporters on the morning of Thursday, February 5. Before making any remarks, Archbishop-designate Hicks introduced himself personally to each of the journalists present. 

A Cubs fan in New York 

Archbishop-designate Hicks reiterated statements and sentiments he expressed on December 18, 2025, when he was announced as the new archdiocesan leader. Among those were his fondness for both the Chicago Cubs baseball team and for the deep-dish pizza popular in his native northern Illinois. “I have never met a pizza that I don’t like. I look forward to continuing that debate while living here,” the 58-year-old said. 

More seriously, he repeated his first words from that December press conference: “I love Jesus, I love the Church, I love people, and out of that relationship, I strive to love my neighbor.” 

Asked how he interprets the vision of his fellow Chicagoan Pope Leo, and how he will carry it out, he said, “What you’ll notice also about Pope Leo, which I think is a very good thing, is he tends to listen more than he talks, and I also want to follow his model. I want to listen to what he says, understand it, reflect on it, pray about it, and then say, ‘How am I going to help lead and interpret this for the people of God here in the Archdiocese of New York?'” 

Working together for the common good 

Archbishop-designate Hicks said that he has not yet had an opportunity to talk to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who took office on January 1, but that he looks forward to doing so. “I’d like to make sure we pay attention to what are those things that we can work together on for the common good,” he said. 

Responding to a question about his message for immigrant Catholics in the archdiocese, he said, “My response comes from a clear understanding in the Catholic Church and our social justice teaching of what is human dignity. My message is: How do we treat each other with respect? How simply do we see each other as brothers and sisters and use that as a foundation for everything else?” 

A shepherd, not a CEO 

As to his leadership style, Archbishop-designate Hicks likened himself more to a church leader than a secular one. “I don’t want to be seen as only the CEO or corporate president of a group. I’m called here to be a pastor. I’m called here to be a shepherd, and as shepherd, my desire is to be a good shepherd,” he said. 

The archbishop-designate previewed both the Solemn Vespers and the Installation Mass, scheduled for Thursday evening and Friday afternoon, respectively, to highlight his family’s participation. His eldest nephew, Grant Hicks, will present the first reading at Vespers. On Friday, siblings, nieces, and nephews will bring up the offertory gifts during the Installation Mass. 

Archbishop-designate Hicks was named the 11th Archbishop of New York, following the acceptance of Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s resignation by Pope Leo XIV on December 18, 2025.