Ronald Hicks

Ronald Aldon Hicks (born August 4, 1967) is an American Catholic prelate who serves as Archbishop of New York. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago from 2018 to 2020 and as Bishop of Joliet in Illinois from 2020 to 2026.

Early life and education Ronald Aldon Hicks was born on August 4, 1967, in Harvey, Illinois. He is the son of Ronald and Roselee Hicks, who both worked as teachers. His father was raised Catholic but his mother was a Lutheran until approximately 1996. Hicks has a younger brother, Rick. His family is of Irish, German, and Polish descent.

Hicks grew up in South Holland, where he received his early education at the grade school of St. Jude the Apostle Parish. He then served as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Chicago from (1994–1996) and at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Orland Hills from (1996–1999). After five years in El Salvador, Hicks returned to Illinois. Cardinal Francis George then appointed Hicks in 2010 as dean of formation at Mundelein Seminary. On January 1, 2015, Archbishop Blase J. Cupich selected Hicks as vicar general for the archdiocese. On September 17, 2018, Hicks was consecrated by Cardinal Cupich at Holy Name Cathedral, with Bishops Francis J. Kane and George J. Rassas serving as co-consecrators.

Bishop of Joliet

On July 17, 2020, Francis named Hicks bishop of Joliet. He was installed in the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet on September 29, 2020;

When interviewed after the election of Pope Leo XIV, Hicks described similarities between himself and Leo, saying, "I recognize a lot of similarities between him and me. So we grew up literally in the same radius, in the same neighborhood together. We played in the same parks, went swimming in the same pools, liked the same pizza places to go to."

Archbishop of New York Pope Leo XIV named Hicks archbishop of New York on December 18, 2025. He was installed on February 6, 2026. , on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 2026, he received the pallium in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome from Pope Leo XIV, along with other metropolitan archbishops.

For the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Hicks is the chairman of the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. He is a board member of the Catholic Extension Society and the Mundelein Seminary Advisory Board.