List of Roman Catholic archbishops of New York

Archbishop of New York
Archbishopric
catholic
A bespectacled man wearing liturgical vestments and a chain around his neck attached to a pectoral cross that is not visible in photograph facing right
Timothy M. Dolan, the Archbishop of New York since 2009
Shield topped by a mitre, featuring a silver field divided per red saltire, four red crosses within the four quarters, and a silver wind mill on the saltire
The coat of arms of the Archdiocese of New York
Incumbent:
Timothy M. Dolan
Information
First holder
DenominationCatholic Church
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
Established
  • 1808 (bishopric)
  • 1850 (archbishopric)
ArchdioceseNew York
CathedralSt. Patrick's Cathedral
Website
archny.org

The Archbishop of New York is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province encompassing nearly all of the state of New York,[1][2] the Archbishop of New York also administers the bishops who head the suffragan dioceses of Albany, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Ogdensburg, Rochester, Rockville Centre and Syracuse.[3] The current archbishop is Timothy M. Dolan.

The archdiocese began as the Diocese of New York, which was created on April 8, 1808.[4] R. Luke Concanen was appointed its first bishop; however, he was unable to leave the Italian Peninsula due to the Napoleonic Wars and died before he could set out for New York.[5][6] Under the reign of his successor, John Connolly, a canonical visitation of the diocese was conducted.[7] On account of the population increase due largely to Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Germany, the Holy See decided to elevate the diocese to the status of archdiocese on July 19, 1850.[4] John Hughes became the first archbishop of the newly-formed metropolitan see.[8][9] Because of the prominence of the position and the challenges that accompany it, Pope John Paul II described the office as "archbishop of the capital of the world."[10][11][A]

Ten men have been Archbishop of New York; another three were bishop of its predecessor diocese. Of these, only one (John Dubois) was neither born in Ireland nor was second-generation Irish.[13][14] Eight archbishops were elevated to the College of Cardinals.[15] John McCloskey, the fifth ordinary of the archdiocese, was the first archbishop to be born in the United States, as well as the first born in what is now New York City.[16][17][B] When he was raised to cardinal in 1875, he became the first cardinal from America.[20][21] Francis Spellman had the longest tenure as Archbishop of New York, serving for 28 years from 1939 to 1967,[22] while Concanen held the position for 26 months (1808–1810), marking the shortest episcopacy.[6]

  1. ^ O'Callaghan, Joseph (March 9, 2007). Electing Our Bishops: How the Catholic Church Should Choose Its Leaders. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 30. ISBN 9780742577923.
  2. ^ Civiletti, Denise (August 10, 2017). "Like a journey back in time: A visit to Fishers Island, population 230". Southold Local. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "Bishops and Dioceses". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "The Archdiocese – History". The New York Times. February 1, 1984. p. B5. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  5. ^ Marlin & Miner 2017, pp. 16–17.
  6. ^ a b Jackson, Kenneth T.; Keller, Lisa; Flood, Nancy, eds. (December 1, 2010). The Encyclopedia of New York City (2nd ed.). Yale University Press. p. 216. ISBN 9780300114652.
  7. ^ Mooney, Joseph (1911). "Archdiocese of New York". Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. Robert Appleton Company. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  8. ^ Hayes, Patrick (1911). "John Hughes". Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. Robert Appleton Company. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  9. ^ "John Hughes". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. June 20, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  10. ^ Goodstein, Laurie (December 3, 2009). "Archbishop Timothy Dolan named archbishop of New York". The New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  11. ^ "Vatican names next archbishop of New York". NBC News. Associated Press. February 23, 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  12. ^ Buck, Rinker (May 12, 2000). "Power, Glory, Scrutiny for Egan". Hartford Courant. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Schemo, Diana Jean (February 12, 2000). "Hard-Fought Legacy of Catholic Power – Next Archbishop Will Inherit a History as Scrappy as New York". The New York Times. p. B1. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  14. ^ Roberts, Sam (March 9, 2017). "New York's Archbishops: How They Shaped the City and the Church". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  15. ^ Marlin & Miner 2017, p. xii.
  16. ^ Marlin & Miner 2017, p. 83.
  17. ^ Brown, Mary Elizabeth (March 9, 2007). "The Archdiocese of New York before the Great Italian Migration". Churches, Communities, and Children: Italian Immigrants in the Archdiocese of New York, 1880–1945. Vol. 12. Center for Migration Studies. p. 10. doi:10.1111/cms3.1995.12.issue-1. ISBN 9780934733564.
  18. ^ Marlin & Miner 2017, p. 84.
  19. ^ Kocieniewski, David (May 29, 2009). "New York: Metropolis Born of a Merger". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  20. ^ Kenny, Kevin (July 22, 2014). The American Irish: A History. Routledge. p. 151. ISBN 9781317889151.
  21. ^ Eisenstadt, Peter, ed. (May 19, 2005). Encyclopedia of New York State. Syracuse University Press. p. 786. ISBN 9780815608080.
  22. ^ White, Christopher (February 12, 2019). "New York archdiocese taking Spellman accusation 'seriously'". Crux. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.


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