“I really want to grow in having a pastoral heart. I want to truly make sure I am not separated from the people, but with them.”
It’s been predicted for several days, and now it’s official. Bishop Ronald Hicks of Joliet is about to become the Archbishop of New York. What this means is that our missionary pope has tapped a bishop with missionary experience to lead the largest mission field in the United States. Bishop Hicks will become what Pope John Paul II called “the archbishop of the capital of the world.”
The official announcement, from the Holy See:
The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New York (USA), presented by His Eminence Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.
The Holy Father has appointed His Excellency Monsignor Ronald A. Hicks as Metropolitan Archbishop of New York (USA), transferring him from the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois (USA).
The soon-to-be-archbishop’s new hometown newspaper framed the news this way:
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday named an Illinois bishop to replace the powerful conservative Cardinal Timothy Dolan as leader of New York’s Roman Catholic archdiocese, a selection that signals his embrace of a more mild and unifying style after the political upheaval of Pope Francis’s papacy, while preserving the spirit of the late pope’s reforms.
The naming of Bishop Ronald A. Hicks to be the next Roman Catholic archbishop of New York is one of the most anticipated decisions of Pope Leo’s young papacy, his first major move indicating the direction he wants the church to take in his home country.
The appointment echoes Pope Leo’s own ascent earlier this year, the unexpected elevation of a little-known bishop from Chicago with a longtime focus on pastoral work and smooth governance.
Soft-spoken and steady, Bishop Hicks, 58, has led the Diocese of Joliet, Ill., since Pope Francis appointed him in 2020. The bishop has largely avoided outspoken politics, unlike Cardinal Dolan, who has boldly championed conservative causes, appeared often on Fox News and prayed at both of President Donald Trump’s inaugurations.
When he first became an auxiliary bishop in 2018, Hicks told Chicago Catholic:
“I really want to grow in having a pastoral heart,” he said. “I want to truly make sure I am not separated from the people, but with them.” He said he has enjoyed all of his different ministries.
“Continuing to be a man of prayer and listening to the voice of God, that’s been my focus in parish work, seminary formation and education, work in Central America and work as vicar general,” Hicks said. “But people who know me know I have a missionary heart.”
Note: His episcopal motto, with a nod to St. Francis of Assisi, is “Paz y Bien,” Spanish for “Peace and All Good.”
Bishop Ronald Aldon Hicks was born on August 4, 1967, in Harvey, Illinois, to Ronald and Roselee Hicks. He has a younger brother, Rick. He grew up in South Holland, Illinois, where he attended St. Jude the Apostle Parish and grade school.
He graduated from Quigley Preparatory Seminary South in 1985. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Niles College of Loyola University, Chicago, in 1989, and both his Master of Divinity degree in 1994 and his Doctor of Ministry degree in 2003 from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois.
Bishop Hicks was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 21, 1994. He served as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Chicago from 1994 to 1996 and at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Orland Hills, Illinois, from 1996 to 1999. From 1999 to 2005, he lived and ministered at St. Joseph College Seminary in Chicago as the dean of formation.
In July 2005, with permission from Cardinal Francis George, Bishop Hicks moved from Chicago to El Salvador to begin his five-year term as regional director of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) in Central America. NPH is a home dedicated to caring for more than 3,400 orphaned and abandoned children in nine Latin American and Caribbean countries.
From 2010 to 2014, Bishop Hicks served as the dean of formation at Mundelein Seminary. During that time, he assisted with weekend Masses at St. Jerome Parish in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago.
Bishop Hicks was appointed vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago by Cardinal Blase Cupich on January 1, 2015. On September 17, 2018, he was ordained an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.
On July 17, 2020, Pope Francis announced that he had named Bishop Hicks as the sixth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Joliet, Illinois. He was installed at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet on September 29, 2020.
Bishop Hicks serves on the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and as the USCCB liaison to the Association of Ongoing Formation of Priests and the National Association of Diaconate Directors. He has also been appointed to the USCCB’s Charter Review Workgroup. He also serves on the board of the Catholic Extension Society and the Mundelein Seminary Advisory Board.
From an interview with him in Faith Magazine in 2020:
On the day that he visited the Diocese of Joliet after it was announced that he was going to be the diocese’s next bishop, Bishop Hicks wore a little photo of Saint Óscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador who was assassinated in 1980 while celebrating Mass, on the lapel of his jacket. He sees Saint Romero as one of his spiritual heroes, especially for his love for the poor, but he was also asked who his other spiritual heroes are.
Bishop Hicks: The saints and Mary, our mother. Her love for us and my love for her is so strong. The saints have a different way of speaking to us. I turn to them in so many different circumstances. One of my favorites is St. John Vianney. I’m born on his feast day, Aug. 4. He is someone whose path to holiness and sainthood wasn’t a straight line. They wanted to kick him out of seminary because he wasn’t quite smart enough, yet God used his gifts to do extraordinary work and bring people closer to God. So, I look at people like that, they inspire me. When I do the Office of Readings, I always enjoy when there is something from St. Augustine or St. John Chrysostom. There is such a clarity of how they open up the faith. I also like preaching a lot. Preaching has been a real joy to me in priesthood. I’m always looking for ways to of being solid with the theology, while also trying to explain it in a creative and understandable way. Those are two great examples of saints who were able to do that for us.
Bishop Hicks was also asked about his leadership style.
Bishop Hicks: I have a pastoral heart. The leadership style is one of a pastor who tries to be a spiritual father, a collaborator, a listener. I know how to make decisions, but I seek input before doing so. I’ve been told that I have a gentle spirit, yet I’m able to also be strong and to try to set vision and agendas and make sure that they move forward. I’m efficient with time and highly organized. I also enjoy being with people. Some people are surprised when they heard that I’m an introvert. I recharge by myself and also with the Lord in quiet prayer. But I also love people. I just have to recognize that after spending time with a lot of people my internal batteries need recharging.
He’s also a big admirer of Pope Francis, and, in a world that is often divisive, Bishop Hicks talked about the need for unity.
Bishop Hicks: The more we, as Catholics, as Christians, can be united [the better]. We’re living in a world that is secularizing so quickly. The message and the core of Jesus and the Eucharist and the Sacraments are more necessary and more important now than ever. We need to look for ways of evangelizing and spreading the Good News, and realizing that, when you do, it’s a road to happiness. There’s joy by being a member of this Church, by loving Jesus and by putting our faith into action.
