tag:reuters.com,2025:newsml_RC2KIIAHPJDD:571872354
(New York, NY) – St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York brought in more crowds than usual as Cardinal Timothy Dolan celebrated his final midnight Christmas Mass at the Cathedral.
The 24-hundred seat Cathedral, looked festive with Christmas wreaths and red poinsettias in place to honor the birth of Jesus. This will be the beloved Archbishop’s final midnight Christmas Mass after 16 years serving the New York Archdiocese’s two-point-eight-million Catholics. Age 75 is the mandatory retirement age in the Church and Cardinal Dolan reached that milestone earlier this year.
Pope Leo the 14th has appointed Bishop Ronald Hicks of the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois to succeed Dolan. But the Cardinal has said publicly that he’d like to remain in New York to continue to be of service. He has been offered book deals and other interesting ideas for his retirement and says he’s looking forward to making his own schedule.
