New York Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks' installation events begin
Bishop Ronald Hicks from Illinois will become the newest archbishop of New York, marked by two key events.
Pope Leo XIV named Hicks to succeed retiring Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who has held the highest local religious position since 2009.
"I have visited New York about 10 times in my life, and every time I have visited, I have said to myself, 'I love it,'" Hicks said after being tapped. "I love the culture, the food, the energy, the plays, the neighborhoods, but especially, I love the people ... from all over the world who call this place home."
His vespers ceremony will be at 5 p.m. Thursday, and he will be installed at a service at 2 p.m. Friday. Both are being held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan.
CBS News New York will stream both events, which can be watched in the live player or on YouTube.
What is a vespers ceremony?
Vespers is a formal evening prayer service, which is usually around sunset. It includes psalms, hymns, scripture readings and prayers.
Hicks' installation is being accompanied by the prayer-focused ceremony before the main installation Mass. This will give other clergy and religious people a way to pray for the new archbishop and the diocese.
What to expect at the installation Mass
The longer-than-normal Mass will have a large attendance with many religious figures such as bishops, priests, deacons and other guests.
Hicks will be formally appointed as the official document from the pope is read. Then, he will sit in the cathedra, which is the bishop's chair. This symbolizes his new authority over the archdiocese.
Like a typical Catholic Mass, scriptures, psalms and gospels will be read and the Holy Communion will be given.
About Bishop Hicks
The Illinois native was born and raised in suburban Chicago, just like Pope Leo XIV. He speaks fluent Spanish and ministered to the poor in South and Central America for years.
Hicks graduated from the seminary in 1985 before studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. He also has a master's in divinity from the University of St. Mary of the Lake. He was ordained in 1994.
He lived in El Salvador for five years, starting in 2005. There, he worked as a regional director of an organization dedicated to caring for orphaned and abandoned children.
In 2020, he was named the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois.