(LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV officially accepted the resignation of Cardinal Timothy Dolan as archbishop of New York and named Bishop Ronald Hicks, a close ally of heterodox Cardinal Blase Cupich, as his replacement on Thursday.
Archbishop-designate Hicks, the current bishop of Joliet, Illinois, will be installed as the 11th archbishop of New York on February 6, the archdiocese announced December 18. Hicks, 58, has deep ties to Cupich, having served under him for years in the Archdiocese of Chicago and even being consecrated a bishop by the cardinal, who has become notorious for contradicting Church teaching on same-sex “marriage” and gender ideology, downplaying abortion, and his staunch opposition to Catholic tradition.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Hicks’ appointment was leaked by the leftist Spanish-language news outlet Religión Digital earlier this week.
READ: Pope Leo to name Cupich ally to replace Cardinal Dolan as archbishop of New York: report
“(W)ith great humility, I accept this appointment. I ask for your prayers, and I ask for your support as we take these next steps together. And with great gratitude, I ask God to bless us today and always,” Hicks said during a press conference with Cardinal Dolan Thursday morning.
Archbishop of New York LEAKED: Bishop Hicks, close ally of Cardinal Cupich, to be named. Another bad appointment by Pope Leo? pic.twitter.com/jrwFQhyH5M
— Sign of the Cross (@CatholicSOTC) December 15, 2025
Hicks was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1994 and served in various roles within the archdiocese over the next decade. From 2005 to 2010, Hicks served in El Salvador as regional director of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) in Central America, an organization that cares for more than 3,400 orphaned and abandoned children in Latin American and Caribbean countries, before returning to Chicago.
In 2015, Cupich appointed him vicar general of the archdiocese, a role he held until he was consecrated an auxiliary bishop by the cardinal in 2018. Hicks was appointed bishop of Joliet by Pope Francis in 2020 and, in 2024, became the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations.
The archbishop-elect holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Niles College of Loyola University, Chicago, and both a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois.
In 2021, Hicks, along with Cupich, was among the 68 bishops who signed a letter asking the USCCB to drop the issue of barring pro-abortion politicians from receiving the Eucharist. In 2024, he was among the Illinois bishops who forbade parishes within his diocese from promoting a petition for a state ballot advisory question aimed at legally requiring parental consent for medical interventions such as abortions and “sex changes” for minors.
Hicks was also notably silent when Cupich planned to honor radically pro-abortion Senator Dick Durbin with a lifetime achievement earlier this year. The Joliet bishop, however, has spoken out on the issue of immigration. In November, after the USCCB issued its first “special message” in over a decade denouncing the Trump administration’s mass deportation of illegal immigrants, Hicks released a statement emphasizing that the “powerful and unified” message affirmed the bishop’s “solidarity with all our (immigrant) brothers and sisters.”
On the other hand, Hicks has allowed the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) to continue to be celebrated in his diocese after Pope Francis promulgated Traditionis Custodes in 2021, and led a 3.4-mile “Eucharistic Procession for Life” for the diocese’s Respect Life Ministry. Hicks has also shown support for the Chesterton Academy of the Holy Family, and has offered to discuss any concerns his fellow bishops might have about the classical education institution, LifeSiteNews has learned.
It is worth noting that the outgoing archbishop of New York, Cardinal Dolan, just turned 75 in February, and while the Church requires bishops to submit their resignations at that age, it is customary to allow cardinals to continue in their role until they reach age 80.
The archbishop of New York has been heavily criticized by American leftists for repeatedly expressing support for President Donald Trump and for once referring to the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk as a “modern day St. Paul.”
On the other hand, Dolan has allowed several sacrilegious, pro-LGBT “Pride Masses” to be celebrated in the archdiocese and infamously served as the grand marshal for the 2015 St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the first that allowed a homosexual activist group to participate.