Bishop Ronald A. Hicks of Joliet, Illinois, honors St. Oscar Romero on his feast March 24, 2022, in a YouTube video in English and Spanish. (CNS screen grab/YouTube/Diocese of Joliet)
Pope Leo XIV has named Bishop Ronald A. Hicks of Joliet, Illinois, as the new archbishop of New York. Here are five things to know about Hicks.
1. He's a Chicago-area native with deep parish roots.
Bishop Ronald Aldon Hicks was born on Aug. 4, 1967, in Harvey, Illinois, and raised in nearby South Holland. He grew up at St. Jude the Apostle Parish and school, and graduated from Quigley Preparatory Seminary South in 1985, setting him on the path to priesthood early in life.
2. He is highly educated in philosophy and ministry.
Hicks holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Niles College of Loyola University Chicago (1989). He earned both a Master of Divinity (1994) and a Doctor of Ministry (2003) from the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, a leading center for Catholic theological education.
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3. His ministry has ranged from parish work to seminary leadership.
Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 21, 1994, Hicks first served as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Chicago (1994-1996) and St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Orland Hills (1996–1999). He later helped form future priests as dean of formation at Chicago's St. Joseph College Seminary (1999-2005).
4. He has worked in Central America and is fluent in Spanish.
In July 2005, Hicks moved from Chicago to El Salvador to begin a five-year term as regional director of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos in Central America. Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos is a home that serves more than 3,400 orphaned and abandoned children in nine Latin American and Caribbean countries.
5. He was named a bishop by Pope Francis.
Pope Francis announced July 17, 2020, that he had tapped Hicks as the sixth bishop of the Joliet, Illinois, Diocese. On Sept. 29, 2020, he was installed at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet.
—Source: Website of the Diocese of Joliet
