MIDTOWN MANHATTAN — One day ahead of his installation at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York offered a hint of his priorities during a wide-ranging press conference on Feb. 5.
He emphasized the importance of evangelization, offered a message to the city’s immigrants, and noted that he looks forward to working with Mayor Zohran Mamdani “for the common good.”
Archbishop Hicks said his installation Mass will be a family affair, with many of his relatives in attendance and four of them bringing up the gifts before Communion.
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“I have hit the lottery with my parents, my family,” he said. “We’re close. They’re going to be there with my friends who have journeyed along the way.”
His nephew, Grant Hicks, will also perform a reading at the Liturgy of the Hours on the evening of Feb. 5 at the cathedral, which Archbishop Hicks will preside over.
He also noted that there will, of course, be Catholic hierarchy gathered at the installation, but to quote Pope Francis, there will also be “todos, todos, todos.”
As for his pastoral priorities, Archbishop Hicks said evangelization is at the top of his list.
“One of my focuses is going to be evangelization,” he said. “How do we actually be disciples who make disciples? People who have been a part of the Church, but not so much — how do we engage? How do we pass the faith on to the next generation? How do we be a Church that is thriving and relevant?”
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Archbishop Hicks’ message for immigrants emphasized the Church’s teachings on social justice and human dignity. He asked, “How do we see each other as brothers and sisters and use that as a foundation for everything else?” He also noted that he requested that the liturgy at his installation also be said in Spanish.
Asked about Mamdani, Archbishop Hicks said the two have not yet met.
“I look forward to meeting him and getting to know him,” he said. “What I’d like to do as archbishop, here, is understand that in politics, in government, (there) are going to be things that we disagree on, but I’d also like to make sure we pay attention to what are those things we can work on together for the common good.”
In some lighter moments, Archbishop Hicks joked that while he has already fallen in love with New York, he remains a Chicago Cubs fan. He also said that he remains partial to Chicago-style deep-dish pizza over New York’s, noting that he has “never met a pizza that I don’t like. So, I am looking forward to continuing that debate.”