Ronald Hicks to be installed as 11th archbishop of New York

NEW YORK (AP) — Ronald Hicks is set to be installed Friday as the 11th archbishop of New York in a ceremony at a revered Manhattan church where dignitaries and laypeople from all walks of life are expected to gather and celebrate.

Previewing the Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral to reporters on Thursday, Hicks said he will talk about his vision for one of the largest archdioceses in the nation that serves roughly 2.5 million Catholics in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York City, as well as seven counties to the north. He also plans to include plenty of references to Pope Leo XI, and promote themes of gratitude and the mission of the church.

“I’m going to talk just about being a church who’s made up of missionary disciples who want to go out and make disciples, and also to pass our faith on to the next generations," he said. “I’m going to talk about a church that builds bridges, goes out to the peripheries, engages the world and lives her mission – a missionary church.”

Hicks, 58, who most recently was bishop of Joliet, Illinois, said attendees at the 2 p.m. ceremony will include Catholic Church leaders and laity, and representatives from other faiths, government, business, labor, education, the arts and first responders.

“In other words, who’s going to be there? Everyone. Everyone," he said. “This is good because New York is a place where the whole world lives and calls home, and the Catholic Church is universal, gathering and engaging everyone. I’m excited and I’m humbled to be installed as the 11th archbishop of the archdiocese of New York.”

Hicks was chosen by Leo in December to replace the retiring Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a prominent conservative figure in the U.S. Catholic hierarchy. Dolan had submitted his resignation in February, as required when he turned 75.

The change in leadership represents a significant new chapter for the U.S. Catholic Church, which is forging a new era with the Chicago-born Leo as the first American pope. Leo and the U.S. hierarchy have already shown willingness to challenge the Trump administration on immigration and other issues, and Hicks is seen as very much a Leo-style bishop.

“What I’d like to do as archbishop is understand that in politics, in government, there are going to be things that we disagree on. But I’d also like to make sure we pay attention to what are those things we can work on together for the common good,” said Hicks, who also is from the Chicago area.

Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks talks to reporters during a news conference at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks talks to reporters during a news conference at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks talks to reporters during a news conference at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks greets journalists before a news conference at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks laughs during a news conference at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Iran and the United States stood poised Friday to hold negotiations in Oman at least over Tehran's nuclear program after a chaotic week that initially saw plans for regional countries to take part in talks in Turkey.

The two countries have returned to Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, months after rounds of meetings turned to ash following Israel's launch of a 12-day war against Iran back in June. The U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites during that war, likely destroying many of the centrifuges that spun uranium to near weapons-grade purity. Israel's attacks decimated Iran's air defenses and targeted its ballistic missile arsenal as well.

U.S. officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio believe Iran's theocracy is now at its weakest point since its 1979 Islamic Revolution after nationwide protests last month represented the greatest challenge to 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's rule. Khamenei's forces responded with a bloody crackdown that killed thousands and reportedly saw tens of thousands arrested — and spurred new military threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to target the country.

With the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships in the region along with more fighter jets, the U.S. now likely has the military firepower to launch an attack if it wanted. But whether attacks could be enough to force Iran to change its ways — or potentially topple its government — remains far from a sure thing.

Meanwhile, Gulf Arab nations fear an attack could spark a regional war dragging them in as well. That threat is real — already, U.S. forces shot down an Iranian drone near the Lincoln and Iran attempted to stop a U.S.-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

“President Trump seeks to corner Iran into reaching a negotiated solution, strong-arming its leaders into making concessions on the nuclear deal,” said Alissa Pavia, a fellow at the Atlantic Council. “The Iranians, on the other hand, are weakened after years of proxy warfare, economic crisis, and internal unrest. Trump is aware of this vulnerability and is hoping to use it to extract concessions and make inroads toward a renewed nuclear agreement.”

The scope, nature and participants in the talks remain unclear, just hours before they were due to begin in Muscat, the Omani capital nestled in the Hajar Mountains. Officials at Oman's borders on Thursday showed particular concern over anyone carrying cameras into the sultanate before the negotiations.

On the Iranian side, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived at night along with multiple Iranian diplomats, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Flight-tracking data showed the plane that carried him to Muscat initially started its journey from Tabas, Iran, the site of the disastrous Operation Eagle Claw in 1980, when a U.S. Special Forces mission attempted to rescue hostages held after the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran. A sandstorm in Tabas aborted the mission and eight service members died when a helicopter crashed into a C-120 refueling aircraft there. Iran's theocracy long has portrayed the mission as God defeating the Americans.

Araghchi wrote on X that “Iran enters diplomacy with open eyes and a steady memory of the past year.”

“Commitments need to be honored,” he wrote. “Equal standing, mutual respect and mutual interest are not rhetoric — they are a must and the pillars of a durable agreement.”

Ahead of the meeting, a top adviser to Khamenei appeared to offer the theocracy's support to the 63-year-old career diplomat.

Araghchi “is a skilled, strategic and trustworthy negotiator at the highest levels of decision-making and military intelligence,” Ali Shamkhani wrote on X. “Soldiers of the nation in the armed forces & generals of diplomacy, acting under the order of the Leader, will safeguard the nation’s interests.”

On the U.S. side, it appeared that talks would be led by U.S. Mideast special envoy Steve Witkoff, a 68-year-old billionaire New York real estate mogul and longtime friend to Trump. Traveling with Witkoff on his Mideast trip so far is Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who in recent weeks has shared proposals for the Gaza Strip and took part in trilateral talks with Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi earlier on the trip.

The two men had traveled from Abu Dhabi to Qatar on Thursday night for meetings with officials there, the Qatari-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera reported. Qatar, which shares an offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf with Iran, also hosts a major U.S. military installation that Iran attacked back in the June war.

It remains unclear just what terms Iran will be willing to negotiate at the talks. Tehran has maintained that these talks only will be on its nuclear program. However, Al Jazeera reported that diplomats from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar offered Iran a proposal in which Tehran would halt enrichment for three years, send its highly enriched uranium out of the country and pledge “not initiate the use of ballistic missiles.”

Russia had signaled it would take the uranium, but Shamkhani in an interview earlier this week had said ending the program or shipping out the uranium were nonstarters for the country. Meanwhile, the talks would not include any pledge by Iran over its self-described “Axis of Resistance,” a network of militias in the region allied to Tehran as a deterrent to both Israel and the U.S. However, Israeli attacks on the militias during its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip decimated the network.

Rubio, America's top diplomat, said talks needed to include all those issues.

“I think in order for talks to actually lead to something meaningful, they will have to include certain things, and that includes the range of their ballistic missiles,” Rubio told journalists Wednesday. “That includes their sponsorship of terrorist organizations across the region. That includes the nuclear program, and that includes the treatment of their own people.”

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks at an event in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert,File)

FILE - In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, is welcomed by an unidentified Omani official, center, upon his arrival at Muscat, Oman, for negotiations with U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, as Iranian Ambassador to Oman Mousa Farhang walks at right, May 11, 2025. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP, File)

People attend a state-organised rally in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, celebrating the birthday of Imam Mahdi, or "Hidden Imam," a 9th-century saint whom Shiite Muslims believe will return at the end of time as a universal reformer to end tyranny and promote justice. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People attend a state-organised rally in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, celebrating the birthday of Imam Mahdi, or "Hidden Imam," a 9th-century saint whom Shiite Muslims believe will return at the end of time as a universal reformer to end tyranny and promote justice. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - This combo shows Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, pictured in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 25, 2025 and Steve Witkoff, right, White House special envoy, pictured in Washington, on March 19, 2025. (AP Photos Stringer, Mark Schiefelbein)