A shaky start for ‘His Eminence and Hizzoner’ in NYC

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won office without the support of traditional centers of power.

He may have shattered another norm last Friday by skipping Archbishop Ronald Hicks’ installation as head of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York. He is the first sitting mayor to skip the historic ceremony as far back as anyone could find.

His absence elicited a chorus of condemnations. The New York Daily News editorial page called it a “snub” that was “wrong and frankly rude.” The right-wing Catholic League said Mamdani was telling the city’s 2.5 million Catholics that they “are not welcome.” Even in a parish that promotes a more left-leaning brand of Catholicism, Mamdani’s absence was seen as a “lost opportunity.”

“Mayor Mamdani has run on a platform of inclusion,” said Father Kenneth Boller, pastor of the Church of St. Francis Xavier in Manhattan. He said welcoming the new faith leader of 40% of New York City residents would seem to bolster that sense of inclusivity. “To miss that opportunity when everybody’s invited seems misplaced,” he said. (A recent Pew Research Center poll shows 32% of residents in the New York City metro area are Catholic).

But even as critics call out the mayor for upending historical tradition, Mamdani’s decision could also be read as a sign of the declining influence of the Catholic Church on the city’s civic life. The church has been diminished through rising secularism, sex abuse scandals and the politicization of all aspects of American life.

Leaders of the archdiocese played politically prominent roles throughout much of the city’s history.

In the 1980s, Mayor Ed Koch and Archbishop Cardinal John O’Connor were not only close friends, they had their own radio show. They even wrote a book together, “His Eminence and Hizzoner: A Candid Exchange.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who hosted a visit from Pope Francis in New York City in 2015, worked with Cardinal Timothy Dolan on a plan to offer 150 beds for homeless New Yorkers.

Dolan, a staunch conservative, defended church doctrine. He delivered a prayer at the 2020 Republican National Convention. He called Charlie Kirk a “modern-day St. Paul. He was a missionary, he was an evangelist, he was a hero,” during an appearance on “Fox and Friends.”

Last year, the archdiocese under Dolan agreed to settle claims from some 1,300 survivors of sex abuse by priests and staff members. That settlement has prompted the church to sell hundreds of millions of dollars in property and lay off staff.

At the same time, the church has also struggled to fill pews as it faces declining attendance and a dwindling priesthood, leading to parish closures and consolidations.

Hicks’ arrival may signal a shift to preaching Catholicism in a way that more closely aligns with Mamdani’s values.

“This is a call to be a missionary church, not a country club,” Hicks said during a homily at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Friday.

On Tuesday, Hicks and Mamdani met face-to-face for the first time as NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch delivered her state of the department address. Spokespeople for both men confirmed they spoke briefly by phone afterwards. Their next meeting was not scheduled.

Joe Calvello, the mayor’s spokesperson, said the two men discussed their shared values and hopes to work together for the betterment of New Yorkers. “Additionally, the Mayor and the Archbishop discussed pizza — deep dish versus the dollar slice, with the mayor recommending Koronet as a great place to go,” Calvello said.

The state’s most prominent Catholic, Gov. Kathy Hochul, also missed the installation Mass. She was in Syracuse at the New York State Democratic Convention receiving her party’s nomination for re-election. When asked about Mamdani’s absence from the event, Hochul said she wasn’t worried.

“I'm not gonna question where people happen to be, what their schedules require. I'm sure there'll be a healthy relationship with the mayor and the head of the archdiocese,” said Hochul. “There always is.”

This article has been updated to clarify the estimated number of Catholics in the New York City metro area.

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