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<\/p>\nNEW YORK (RNS) \u2014 Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks began his first homily as the leader of about 2.5 million\u00a0New York Catholics by speaking Spanish, quoting from a hymn almost every Mass-going Latino knows.<\/p>\n
\u201cLord, take my life,\u201d he began in Spanish, imperfectly quoting from \u201cAlma Misionera,\u201d or \u201cMissionary Soul.\u201d He continued, \u201cI\u2019m willing to do whatever you want, no matter what it is, you lead me to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Friday (Feb. 6), Cardinal Timothy Dolan formally stepped down after more than 16 years leading the Archdiocese of New York as Hicks became his successor. Hicks most recently served as bishop of Joliet, Illinois, and previously led an orphanage in El Salvador, was a Chicago priest and served as a seminary formation director. At age 58, he presumably will have almost two decades to lead the influential diocese before he is expected to submit his resignation at 75.<\/p>\n
At his installation Mass in St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral, Hicks made two things crystal clear: that he seeks to lead a church that will, at its heart, be missionary, and that Latinos will not remain at the peripheries of his ministry.<\/p>\n
He did not signal the latter commitment by addressing Latinos directly or their widespread fears of ethnically targeted immigration enforcement during President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation campaign. But Spanish was part of the bilingual liturgy and often spoken first \u2014 like in the first reading from Galatians by lector Samuel Jimenez Coreas, who once lived in the El Salvador orphanage Nuestros Peque\u00f1os Hermanos, or \u201cOur Little Siblings,\u201d that Hicks led.<\/p>\n
He also quoted Bad Bunny, the singer and rapper whose appearance at Sunday\u2019s Super Bowl has drawn blowback from conservatives who accuse the Puerto Rican of being un-American. The reference to \u201cNUEVAYoL\u201d came alongside lyrics from Billy Joel\u2019s \u201cNew York State of Mind,\u201d Jay-Z\u2019s \u201cEmpire State of Mind,\u201d and Frank Sinatra\u2019s \u201cNew York, New York.\u201d But the Bad Bunny quote drew some of the most raucous applause<\/p>\n
Maria Galvez, a parishioner of St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral for 20 years, said tears began to well up in her eyes during Hicks\u2019 homily.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s emotional,\u201d said Galvez, who is originally from El Salvador. \u201cI feel very happy that we have a bishop that speaks Spanish, and I feel that he\u2019s very genuine, that he comes to be here with great happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others also seemed touched by Hicks\u2019 fluency in Spanish, as the congregation audibly giggled and cheered when he spoke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The theme of a missionary church was the cornerstone of Hicks\u2019 homily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a call to be a missionary church, not a country club,\u201d he said. \u201cA club exists to serve its members. The church exists, on the other hand, to go out and serve all people \u2014 on fire, with faith, with hope and charity in the name of Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The archbishop said, \u201cWe exist to follow Jesus, who fed the hungry, healed those ill in body and spirit, rejected hatred and proclaimed love.\u201d<\/p>\n
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