Pope Leo XIV is reportedly set to accept Cardinal Timothy Dolan's resignation at some point this week and could name an Illinois bishop to replace him as the head of the Archdiocese of New York.
According to the New York Post, Dolan submitted his resignation in February, when he turned 75 — the mandatory retirement age for Catholic clergy — but the Holy Father is now prepared to accept it.
Dolan has served as the New York archbishop since 2009.
"It's in the works for this week, I'm told," said Rob Astorino, the host of Newsmax's "Saturday Agenda."
"It's going to happen. It's a question of when."
Astorino — the former Westchester County, New York, executive who launched "The Catholic Channel" on SiriusXM and cohosted a show with Dolan — posted on social media about the ostensible changing of the guard.
"Strong rumors that @Pontifex has accepted the resignation of @CardinalDolan and will appoint Bishop Ron Hicks of Joliet, Illinois," he wrote in a post on X Monday.
The Post reported that other sources within the Catholic Church confirmed Dolan's imminent departure.
Hicks, 58, currently serves as a bishop in Illinois, while Leo was born Robert Francis Prevost on Chicago's South Side.
In May, Prevost made history when he became the first American pontiff elected in the church's 2,000-year history. The Villanova University graduate was selected by the church's College of Cardinals on the fourth ballot following the death of Pope Francis in April.
"He doesn't seem like some figure or theory out there," Hicks told WGN-TV News in Chicago after Leo was announced as the new pope.
"But he's a normal guy from a normal neighborhood we grew up in. For me, it makes him so relatable."
Hicks grew up in South Holland, Illinois, and was appointed the sixth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Joliet by Pope Francis in July 2020, according to the diocese's website. He was installed at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in September of that same year.
Newsmax reached out to the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Joliet for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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