The archbishop-designate of New York, Ronald Hicks, began his pastoral letter “MAKE” with a pithy—and emphatic—expression of the Christian faith: “I love Jesus!”

The distinctly Midwestern earnestness of the letter, which he released as the bishop of the Diocese of Joliet this September, matches accounts from various people who spoke with America about their personal experiences with the bishop’s leadership.

“He’s just a really good person,” the Rev. Burke Masters, the pastor of St. Isaac Jogues Parish in Hinsdale, Ill., said. “He practices what he preaches. He’s very humble.”

“When he said in his interview this morning, ‘I love Jesus, and I love my neighbor,’ it’s really true. He treats everybody with respect,” according to Father Masters. He has known Bishop Hicks for roughly 20 years, dating back to the bishop’s time as a priest in Chicago.

It is a frequent refrain of the prelate, who was raised in South Holland, Ill., a South Side suburb of Chicago just minutes away from the childhood home of Pope Leo XIV in Dolton, Ill. Also like Pope Leo, Bishop Hicks was profoundly formed by his experience serving the poor in Latin America, especially in El Salvador, where he worked with orphaned children. 

Descriptions of Bishop Hicks are strikingly similar to those of Pope Leo as well, highlighting his sincere faith, a pastoral disposition that transcends the American political binary and a sympathy for tradition that is compatible with deep care for immigrants and the marginalized. (The parallels end there: The bishop is a Cubs fan, unlike the White Sox-affiliated pope, who appointed him despite the crosstown rivalry.)

“This is how the Church will be renewed…not by treating the Church like a club, and not by clinging to the status quo, but by being on fire with love for Jesus,” Bishop Hicks urged in “MAKE.”

Father Masters said the priorities detailed in the letter were a good reflection of the bishop’s pastoral effort in Joliet, focused on his call to “go and make disciples” through four stages: “conversion, confession, communion, and commission.”

“From the very beginning of his time here in our diocese, he said, ‘I want us to focus on three things. Let’s catechize, evangelize and put our faith into action,’” Father Masters said.

“If you talked to just about anyone in the diocese, they would express very positive experiences with Bishop Hicks and his very friendly, down-to-earth and practical approach,” he said.

While Catholic culture warriors have been jockeying to claim the incoming archbishop, Joliet sources described a man whose ministry defies facile categorization.

The bishop allowed the Tridentine rite, commonly referred to as the Traditional Latin Mass, to continue in the Diocese of Joliet. An Instagram post from 2022 shows Bishop Hicks and Trevor Alcorn, a parishioner of St. John Paul II Catholic Parish in Kankakee, Ill., together after a Mass. In the caption, Mr. Alcorn thanked Bishop Hicks for “his pastoral care and benevolence towards the Traditional Latin Mass communities in the diocese.” Mr. Alcorn echoed this sentiment in a recent interview with National Catholic Register.

The bishop has significant ties to Cardinal Blase Cupich, and he signed a letter opposing the denial of the Eucharist to pro-choice Catholic politicians, according to National Catholic Register. Some outlets, including CNN, have framed Bishop Hicks as “pro-migrant,” but that merely suggests his alignment with the concerns outlined recently about U.S. immigration policy in a “special message” from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“When it comes to the culture wars, I don’t think he is interested,” said Rev. Peter Wojcik, the pastor of St. Clement Church in Chicago, who knew Bishop Hicks when he was the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago under Cardinal Cupich. “He doesn’t have social media accounts. I don’t think that’s his thing; his thing is really the word of the Gospel.”

“He will put his focus on the diocese, not on social media and trying to impress people,” Father Wojcik said.

“What struck me today as I was reflecting on his appointment was how people keep saying Pope Leo is such a great listener. And I thought, well, that’s interesting because he picked someone I would describe as a master listener.”

That quieter presence may be a difference in style that distinguishes Bishop Hicks from his predecessor, the outgoing archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan. The media-friendly cardinal has been widely regarded among the more politically engaged prelates in the country, perceived as perhaps too chummy with another famous New Yorker, President Donald Trump. 

New Yorkers will be happy to hear that their new archbishop has proved an eminently capable administrator who excels at navigating “difficult and complex” conversations, according to Father Wojcik. He also emphasized that he views the appointment as good news for clergy in the archdiocese: “It will be so easy for the priests of New York to respect him. You can force obedience, but you can’t force respect. And with Ron, that will be easy.”

“He is deeply pastoral. He deeply cares for immigrants,” Father Wojcik said. “He knows the poor and immigrants in Chicago not as a statistic but by their names and life stories.”

Father Wojcik also noted Bishop Hicks’s strong support for pro-life advocacy.

“I think he’s just Catholic,” he said.

Kevin Yonkers-Talz is the director for the Jesuit First Studies program in the Bronx, and a Chicago native himself. He first met Bishop Hicks at a Mass in Chicago in August of 2018. He encountered the bishop again while working for the Jesuits in El Salvador in November of that same year, spending an afternoon with Bishop Hicks as he revisited Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos to celebrate a graduation Mass. Bishop Hicks had worked as regional director for N.P.H. in El Salvador from 2005 to 2010.

“He was very warm and hospitable,” Mr. Yonkers-Talz said. “I remember him celebrating Mass with all of the youth there and being very engaged and personable with them.”

“What struck me was his humility, his warmth and his hospitality,” he said. “Him being the archbishop of New York and having a glimpse of the person that he is gives me a lot of hope for New York City and his mission here.”

Edward Desciak is an O'Hare Fellow at America Media.