On the eve of his installation, Bishop Ronald A. Hicks led a Vespers prayer service, conscious of the weight of representing more than 2.5 million Catholics.

The historic installation of New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks on Friday featured fascinating rituals steeped in Catholic Church tradition. From knocking at the doors of historic St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the heart of Manhattan to begin the ceremony to changing the color of the rug inside the majestic house of worship to match Hicks’ status in the Church the archdiocese left no stone unturned when it came to religious pomp and

The Archdiocese of New York is arguing in state court that its longtime insurer has secretly been “waging a shadow campaign” and posing as a victims’ rights group in order to “undermine and weaken” the archdiocese amid an ongoing insurance dispute.

Hicks will succeed Timothy Cardinal Dolan, who submitted his resignation last year after turning 75, as required under church law.

Now that he’s retired, Cardinal Timothy Dolan is staying put in New York as he fields book and documentary offers —and that’s also keeping him in the political limelight. The beloved former head of the New York Archdiocese,