By Cesar A., Reporter
STONY POINT, NY – Pope Leo XIV has formally accepted the resignation of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, longtime Archbishop of New York – in a statement from the Vatican on Thursday December 18, 2025.
Dolan, who has served as Archbishop since 2009, submitted his resignation in February after reaching the church’s mandatory retirement age of 75. While such resignations are routine, their acceptance — and the naming of a successor — is entirely at the discretion of the pope.
Subsequently, Pope Leo has appointed Bishop Ronald Hicks of Joliet, Illinois, to lead the Archdiocese of New York. Hicks, 58, currently serves in the Diocese of Joliet, near the pope’s own hometown of Chicago.
The Pope, in the Vatican’s statement – noted prior experience with Joliet’s work in the Catholic Church, as well as his style of communicating with Parishioners. More details about Bishop Joliet are cited below.
Cardinal Dolan: A Visible, Jovial Presence in Rockland since 2009
Throughout his 16-year tenure, Cardinal Dolan maintained a regular pastoral presence across the Archdiocese of New York, including frequent visits to Rockland County parishes and Catholic institutions. He often provided an easygoing, jovial sense of humor to his sermons and public statements.
Most recently, in January 2025, Dolan celebrated a major Mass at the Marian Shrine and Retreat Center in Stony Point following its designation as a national pilgrimage site. The event drew hundreds of worshippers from Rockland County and the wider Hudson Valley and marked a significant milestone for the shrine, which has long been a center of Marian devotion.
In May 2024, Dolan visited Catholic Charities Community Services of Rockland in Haverstraw, where he toured the food pantry and blessed the soil at the organization’s “Garden of Love,” a community garden that provides fresh produce to families facing food insecurity. Dolan used the visit to highlight the archdiocese’s social service mission at the local level.
Over the years, Dolan has also celebrated Mass and participated in parish events at Rockland County churches, including St. Francis of Assisi Church in West Nyack, Immaculate Conception Church in Stony Point, where he met with parishioners and clergy during pastoral visits, and delivered sermons that intertwined both the Catholic mission of mercy, as well as a keen sense of humor – much to the delight of many attendees.
About Bishop Ronald Hicks
Bishop Ronald Hicks is said to bring a broad pastoral, academic, and international background to the Archdiocese of New York.
According to The National Catholic Reporter, Hicks is a Chicago-area native, born Aug. 4, 1967, in Harvey, Illinois, and raised in nearby South Holland. He grew up attending St. Jude the Apostle Parish and School, and his vocation emerged early. He graduated from Quigley Preparatory Seminary South in 1985, placing him on a clear path toward the priesthood.
Hicks is reported to be well educated in philosophy and ministry, holding a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Niles College of Loyola University Chicago. He later earned both a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, one of the nation’s leading centers of Catholic theological education.
Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 21, 1994, Hicks’ early ministry included parish assignments at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Chicago and St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Orland Hills. He later played a key role in priestly formation as dean of formation at St. Joseph College Seminary from 1999 to 2005.
In July 2005, Hicks moved to El Salvador, where he served for five years as regional director of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, an organization that provides homes and education for more than 3,400 orphaned and abandoned children across nine Latin American and Caribbean countries. He is fluent in Spanish, which would likely be an applicable skill in villages such as Haverstraw, where over 40% of the population in that location speaks Spanish as a first language.
Pope Francis named Hicks the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Joliet on July 17, 2020. He was installed two months later at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus.
Following the election of Pope Leo XIV earlier this year, Hicks described the new pontiff as deeply relatable, saying he felt less like a distant figure and more like “a normal guy from a normal neighborhood.”
The Archdiocese of New York encompasses more than 2.5 million Catholics across Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, and seven surrounding counties, including Rockland. No word yet on if the new Archbishop will be traveling in a Tesla, a Mustang, or a Mini Cooper.
