![\"Mayor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/MixCollage-09-Feb-2026-03-15-PM-9811.jpg\" "\\"Despite")
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Friday\u2019s Interfaith Breakfast (left) and Archbishop Ronald Hicks at his installation Mass at St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral (right). Mamdani said Monday he looks forward to working closely with Hicks despite missing the historic ceremony.<\/p>\n
Photos by Lloyd Mitchell and Dean Moses <\/p>\n
Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> tried to dismiss criticism Monday about his no-show at Friday\u2019s installation of Archbishop Ronald Hicks<\/a> at St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral \u2014 stressing that he looked forward to meeting and working with the new leader of Catholics in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island.<\/p>\n Hicks, a Chicago native, officially assumed leadership from Cardinal Timothy Dolan, whose resignation was accepted last year upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, to become the 11th leader of New York\u2019s Archdiocese in a ceremony attended by hundreds of Catholic faithful, clergy, and civic leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani, who had hosted his first Interfaith Breakfast on the morning of Hicks\u2019 installation, told reporters on Monday, \u201cI wasn\u2019t able to make that event, but I do look forward to sitting down with the cardinal, and I\u2019m so excited, frankly, at his leadership in this city.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe see so often, frankly, that New Yorkers do not actually turn to elected officials in moments of need. They are turning to their faith leaders,\u201d he said, adding that he hopes to collaborate closely with Hicks moving forward.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Archdiocese confirmed that Hicks and Mamdani have not yet spoken but hope to do so \u201cvery soon.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe Archbishop was only installed this past Friday; he said in his homily that day that he looks forward to working with government (and business, labor, the arts, etc.) for the common good,\u201d the spokesperson said. <\/p>\n They noted that Cardinal Dolan had previously met with Mamdani both during his mayoral campaign and after he took office. Hicks told reporters on Thursday<\/a> ahead of the Mass that he had not yet met or spoken with Mamdani but expressed optimism about future collaboration.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe new mayor and I have not had the opportunity to speak yet, and I\u2019m sure that I will soon have that opportunity,\u201d Hicks said on Feb. 5. \u201cI look forward to meeting him and getting to know him. What I\u2019d like to do as the Archbishop here is understand that in politics, in government, there are going to be things that we disagree on. There are, but I\u2019d also like to make sure we pay attention to what those things are that we can work together for the common good.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Mamdani congratulated Hicks in a Friday post on X, some Catholic leaders and critics saw his absence as a break from tradition.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and a longtime critic of Mamdani, described it as \u201coutrageous\u201d<\/a> and said the mayor was signaling to Catholics that they are \u201cnot welcome.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe mayor of New York City traditionally attends the installation of the new archbishop of New York, but Mamdani\u2014who was invited\u2014ghosted the event. The installation began a few hours after the Interfaith Breakfast at the New York Public Library; it is a short walk up Fifth Avenue to St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral. He could easily have been there. Instead, he attended to business as usual,\u201d Donohue said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Daily News editorial board, meanwhile, called the mayor\u2019s absence \u201cwrong and frankly rude,\u201d<\/a> noting that every mayor in recent memory has attended a new archbishop\u2019s investiture.<\/p>\n The Interfaith Breakfast, held at the New York Public Library earlier on Friday, drew about 400 representatives from across the city\u2019s faith communities, though no Catholic clergy spoke as part of the main program. Mamdani noted the gathering as an opportunity to connect with faith leaders across the city.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Archbishop](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770777145_675_DSC01634.jpg\" "\\"Despite")
Archbishop Ronald Hicks sitting on altar with crozier moments after officially becoming the 11th archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York at St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral on Feb. 6, 2026.Photo by Dean Moses\n<\/p>\n