BOSTON – Pope Francis has named Providence Bishop Richard Henning as the subsequent Archbishop of Boston, replacing retiring Cardinal Sean O’Malley, in keeping with the Archdiocese of Boston.
Cardinal O’Malley introduced Archbishop-elect Henning at a news conference Monday on the Pastoral Center in Braintree, after celebrating Mass together at 9 a.m.
Archbishop-elect Henning will officially be installed on Thursday, October 31 in a ceremony on the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston.
Who is Bishop Richard Henning?
Henning, 59, grew up on Long Island in New York and was ordained a priest in 1992. He has been a bishop since 2018.
Pope Francis appointed him Coadjutor Bishop of Providence in November 2022. In May 2023, he succeeded Thomas Tobin because the Bishop of Providence. A bit greater than a 12 months later, he’s heading to Boston.
“Originally, it was just shock. But I had a little bit time to do some praying and to think lots about it and I’ve really loved my time in Rhode Island, in order that makes it a little bit little bit of a mixed feeling today, but I’m excited for this latest ministry,” he told reporters in Braintree Monday.
“I feel grateful to the Holy Father for his confidence. This looks as if an infinite task, so it will be something I’ll should throw myself entirely into.”
CBS Boston
His 12 months in Providence was his first time as a diocesan bishop.
“I actually loved attending to know the people there and to experience their witness of religion. So, I’m guessing that we have now a number of individuals who love the Lord here in Boston too, so I stay up for attending to know them,” Henning said. “I can inform you in Providence one among the important thing things for me was evangelization. I believe we want to revive the religion. That’s a key priority of the Holy Father as well.”
He was asked what the people of Boston should learn about him.
“They should know I’m a sinner in need of grace,” Henning said. “I come to them as one among their very own. I come from a family of religion. Certainly, my parents, my mom and pop are huge influences on me as a person, as a priest, as a bishop. I need to get to know them and I assume they’ll have time to get to know me.”
Cardinal Sean O’Malley
O’Malley, 80, has been Archbishop of Boston since 2003, when he succeeded Cardinal Bernard Law, who had resigned at the peak of the church sex abuse scandal. Pope Francis officially accepted his resignation Monday. He is five years past the usual retirement age for Catholic bishops.
Gov. Maura Healey said in a press release Monday that she was “humbled and privileged to hunt and receive his advice again and again” as attorney general and governor.
“I greatly admire his deep faith and his empathy and compassion for all,” Healey said. “He will probably be remembered for his lifesaving support for families experiencing homelessness, his advocacy for more cost-effective housing, his support for victims of human trafficking and his global leadership within the fight against climate change.”
An Ohio native, O’Malley was named the Bishop of Fall River in 1992 before becoming Bishop of Palm Beach, Florida in 2002. Less than a 12 months later, he became Archbishop of Boston. He was made a cardinal by then-Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.
O’Malley spoke up for accountability within the wake of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick being defrocked in 2019 after the Vatican found him guilty of sex abuse.
“Leadership within the church must implement accountability for cardinals and bishops…if we hope to have the chance to interact the laity within the work of tangible change within the church,” O’Malley said in a press release on the time.
The cardinal also apologized in 2018 after revealing a secretary never handed him a letter in 2015 detailing allegations of misconduct against McCarrick. O’Malley released a press release on the time saying, “I understand that not everyone will accept this answer given the best way the Church has eroded the trust of our people. My hope is that we will repair the trust and faith of all Catholics.”
On Monday, attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represents clergy sex abuse survivors, said O’Malley didn’t do a very good job of naming all accused priests publicly.
“Cardinal O’Malley omits naming individuals who’ve been named one time or who’re deceased,” Garabedian said.
Archbishop of Boston
Henning was asked what he would say to lapsed Catholics who lost faith within the Church over the sex abuse scandal.
“I’ll hearken to their pain, their woundedness. I actually lived through that as well. When these crimes and sins were committed, I used to be also a baby. I’m grateful to God I used to be not affected by it personally, but people in my generation were,” Henning said. “If there are Catholics who’re scandalized, I understand why they’re scandalized. It’s scandalous … however it has not made me lose my faith in God or my faith in the potential for reconciliation and latest life.”
While Henning won’t officially take over in Boston until October 31, he does have an early goal.
“I believe my first priority must be – listen. I do not think I should include answers. I’m latest to New England and I’ve been spending the last 12 months learning Rhode Island so I do not know much yet about Massachusetts or Boston so I believe the primary 12 months really must be about visiting, listening, learning before I start setting priorities.”
Steven Senne / AP
Henning is fluent in Spanish, something O’Malley said “will allow him to interact directly with our large Hispanic Catholic population.”
“The arrival of a latest archbishop is all the time a time of renewal and hope,” O’Malley said. “Bishop Henning brings the center of a pastor to his latest role.”
